Today was an average Thursday until, just before third hour, the fire alarm started going off. Assuming it was a fire drill, students made their way outside into the cool fall air where they were told by community assistants and other staff to head right back inside. This was not an ordinary fire drill.

Shortly after the confusion that followed, students returned to their classes and an announcement was made that construction workers had accidentally triggered a fire alarm in the basement. The announcement thanked students for their cooperation and apologized for the interruption, then students and teachers started class.

According to Pioneer senior Mira Strauss, the drill was mostly uneventful but did carry a certain whiff. “I was making my way down the hall,” she said. “Then I went outside–it smelled a little bit like barbeque–then I turned around and went inside.”

The smell of something burning might have been slightly concerning, but in actuality, nothing caught fire throughout the fake drill. The smells were related to the ongoing construction work, according to building officials.