An Interview with Cheryl Nilmeyer, Larson School Principal
Date: April 27, 2009

First, and foremost, I want to thank Cheryl Nilmeyer for taking this interview; I found her responses to all my questions to be candid, forthright without reservation or evasion.

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Dr. Closson: As you know, there has been a lot of talk about the first all-call that aborted the fire alarm at Larson School last week. I will be blunt, did you abort that fire alarm?

Cheryl Nilmeyer: "Yes, two calls went out over our intercom system. The first call I made, I don't know exactly what I said but it was something like: Everyone, remain seated and not to respond to the alarm. But I want to make it clear I didn't say it was a false alarm."

Closson: Did you say that the person who pulled the alarm is in big trouble?

Nilmeyer: "No, I don't remember saying that. I did use an angry voice as we had been getting a lot of false alarm pulls lately, mostly before recess or after recess."

Closson: In an excess of caution, why didn't you have the students evacuate the building anyway?

Nilmeyer: "The alarm went off during STAR testing and they are very strict on test administration; I didn't want the test disrupted by what I thought, most likely, was a false alarm. Also, you should know, the teachers already knew that I would never schedule a fire alarm drill during STAR testing and the teachers would evacuate if I hadn't come on the system. I never believed that anyone would just start a fire and that there is only one way into the building and one way out, so I knew nobody got in and I didn't believe a student would ever do such a thing."

Closson: Take me through a timeline of what happened first.

Nilmeyer: "Well as I said, the alarm went off and I got on the intercom and told everyone to stay seated. My assistant got up and checked the Board. We have an electronic board out in the hallway (next to the Trophy case) that tells us whether or not it was a pull or if there was smoke or fire detected. After my assistant came back from looking at the Board (An Edwards System Alarm Board) it indicated smoke in one of the hallways. We knew exactly what hallway because the Board will tell us where in the school the pull or smoke is detected."

Closson: Okay, what did you do next?

Nilmeyer: "It was at this time I got on the walkie-talkie to the Head Custodian so he could personally check the situation out. Both the Custodian and Mr. Funge grabbed fire extinguishers to fight the blaze. I went up stairs to survey the situation and asked the Custodian if the fire was out."

Closson: And, did he tell you the fire was out?

Nilmeyer: "Yes, he said it was out but also said there could be a spark up in the ceiling somewhere." You know my Custodian has been with me for 14-years, he is really a lot more than a Custodian, I consider him to be my plant manager also."

Closson: Okay, so when was the second all-call made and what did they say?

Nilmeyer: "The second all-call was made by a member of the staff and was made within seconds of the first call that I made. You said in your previous story that her voice was panic-stricken, it was not. She was very firm about the fact the fire was real and that everyone should leave the building immediately."

Closson: Was the fire alarm triggered by a pull or by something else?

Nilmeyer: "The fire alarm was not triggered by a pull, the alarm was automatically set-off by sensors. And your article said that the time of the alarm was 10:04AM. Our sensors indicated the alarm went off at exactly 9:58AM but the District Office (Lodi Unified's Office) registered the alarm at 9:58.30AM; 30 seconds later than ours."

Closson: Was the Lodi City Fire Department on scene by then?

Nilmeyer: "Your article said that the fire department got to the school within a minute and a half of the alarm, that's not true. Others told me later that it was 6 or 7 minutes. It took at least six or seven minutes to get to the school from the time our alarm sounded. I was wondering what took them so long; even when we have had false alarms they got here faster."

Closson: You said that it's too bad the Board that tells you about fires isn't located better, right?

Nilmeyer: "I am no architect but I would have put the Board in an area that the staff or I could see it; there may be other reasons for the Board being in that position like for emergency personnel when they come into the building and/or so no one would have to waste time during an emergency by coming into a locked office area to see the Board. The assistant I sent to look at the board had to get up and walk around the corner to see the board. Then she had to come all the way back to me and tell me it was not a pull and the Board indicated smoke."

Closson: Was there anything else that was wrong about our published story in your view?

Nilmeyer: "Your story was wrong about the smoke, there was no smoke just the spray cloud from the fire extinguishers."

Closson: Isn't it possible that it was smoke from the fire and the spray cloud from the fire extinguishers?

Nilmeyer: "Yes, I guess it could have been both."

Closson: I believe you said earlier that there will be a Lodi Unified District debriefing on this entire matter, is that true?

Nilmeyer: "Yes, there will be a complete debriefing to ascertain what went right or wrong? I have much to share with my fellow administrators about what I learned from this event so that they may benefit from this unpleasant experience should they ever be confronted with a similar situation."

Closson: Who will be at this debriefing?

Nilmeyer: "Everybody. At least everybody that showed up to the fire."

Closson: Like Ms. Pennington, Mr. Hand, Ms.Vetica?

Nilmeyer: "Everyone. Well, I don't know whether the superintendent will be there …but everyone else."

Closson: If there were any mistakes made, who should take the responsibility?

Nilmeyer: "I take full responsibility, I am the lead administrator on campus. I own any mistake if a mistake was made, but I think I acted as responsibly as I could under the set the circumstances."

Closson: Anything else you'd like to say that I didn't cover?

Nilmeyer: "Yes, I'd like to thank my staff and the District for there professional and thoughtful response. You know the District brought waters and juice for the 700 children who were forced to stay outside while their parents came to pick them up. Most of the children were outside for only one or two hours and the District was there to make sure they were okay. I didn't even know there was a response team like that in the District."


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