Where there was smoke there was no fire at Enterprise HighSchool Monday as several Lincoln County volunteer fire departmentstested their readiness as part of fire prevention weekactivities.

Monday’s drill simulated a fire in the teachers’ lounge at theschool on Highway 583. For the first time with the drill, a smokemachine was used to produce the desired effect.

“It makes it more realistic,” said Enterprise Principal BruceFalvey as he and Assistant Principal Jerry Meadors watchedfirefighters from the Hog Chain, Ruth, Bogue Chitto and EastLincoln volunteer fire departments go through the motions duringthe morning activity.

Fire and school officials said the drill went pretty well.

“A few things need to be fixed and changed, but nothing major,”said Lincoln County Civil Defense Coordinator Clifford Galey, whomonitored and evaluated fire department performance.

Randy Jordan, Hog Chain Volunteer Fire Department president,said it was pretty good that students and teachers were evacuatedfrom school buildings within four minutes.

However, he also mentioned some confusion in the way studentsand teachers exited buildings. Officials said students and teachersshould remember not go toward a fire as they leave a building.

“It’s all a learning process,” Jordan said. “It teaches thestudents and the teachers.”

Falvey also mentioned the evacuation issue. He said school mostbuildings have two exits, and evacuation routes may need to bemodified as the situation warrants.

“In case of a real fire, you have to adjust your plan asneeded,” Falvey said.

Another item Falvey cited was for teachers to get their rollbooks so all students can be accounted for once outside. As part ofthe drill, a couple of students hid and had to be found byfirefighters.

“That’s one thing we’ll have to go over at faculty meetings,”Falvey said about the roll book reminder.

Fire lane concerns also got officials’ attention Monday. Severalstudents had parked their cars in a fire lane and firefighters hadto make adjustments for that.

“Had this been a real fire, they wouldn’t have gone around thosecars. They’d have gone through them,” Galey said.

Meadors and firefighters discussed several options after thedrill. They considered better marking of the fire lane and possiblyeven moving the fire hydrant closer to school buildings.

“We’ll work with you any way we can,” Meadors toldfirefighters.

Paramedics from King’s Daughters Medical Center and LincolnCounty Sheriff’s Department Deputies B.W. Pitts and Jason Hawkinsalso participated in Monday’s drill. The deputies estimated abouthalf a dozen parents came by to check the situation during theapproximately 45-minute event.

“They just wanted to make sure everything was all right,” Pittssaid.

As planned, the drill did not go out over scanners. Pitts saidthere would have been much more traffic if it had.

“If it’d had gone over like a real one, we’d have parentseverywhere,” he said.

Junior Will Sicard, 17, said the drill was a good thing.

“It teaches us not to panic when something real happens,” Sicardsaid as he waited outside with friends.

Last week was Fire Prevention Week, but school-wide testingprevented drill activity then. Falvey and Meadors expressedappreciation to the fire departments for their efforts.

“This gives you an opportunity to learn and see your mistakes,”Meadors said.

After the drill, firefighters spoke to students about fireprevention, smoke detectors and the need to call 911 in anemergency. Jordan indicated the drill was beneficial for allinvolved.

“It’s a good learning process for them and it helps us train,too,” Jordan said.