FEBRUARY 19, 2015
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY
The JEC’s Bruriah High School for Girls was evacuated last
Thursday when a maintenance worker accidentally spilled sulfuric acid/drain
cleaner in his workroom. As ambulances and fire crews filled the street in
front of the school, the students were evacuated to the JEC’s shul, Adath
Israel, one block away, where they spent a few hours waiting for the spill to
be cleaned up and the area to be declared safe.
“Who would have thought that spilling some liquid drain
opener would lead to the evacuation of an entire school building? But the
reality of what happened at Bruriah has been the catalyst for an overview of
many of our procedures, from cataloging and disposing of cleaning products to
the uses of such substances in intentional ways to harm people,” said Rabbi
Eliyahu Teitz, Associate Dean of Bruriah High School.
Some girls broke out in a kumsitz (sing along—the literal
translation from the Yiddish means “come and sit”). Then someone came in and
said whoever doesn’t feel good should go to the nurse.
“My head was hurting, and they told us that whoever has
asthma should go. Hatzalah came to treat about 30 girls. They went down to get
evaluated and some of them went to the hospital and then the buses came.”
Rabbi Yosef Oratz told JLNJ, “All the drills we’ve done paid
off. The girls left the building quickly and quietly and followed my
instructions by immediately vacating the area around the Bruriah building and
walking to Adath Israel. The faculty, too, were professional and focused as
they escorted their students away from the building.”
Several students were taken to Trinitas Hospital at the
request of their parents; they were accompanied by staff members.
He added, “One potential student who was visiting the school
couldn’t get over the impromptu kumsitz. Although this young lady was one of
those transported to Trinitas Hospital for observation, all she could talk
about with her friends was the positive spirit she witnessed during the
evacuation.”
Said Tali, “We were hoping not to have school the next day,
but that didn’t work. Everyone was taking selfies. We didn’t know if it was
gas, but then they said it was acid. In the beginning they probably weren’t
telling us what the smell came from because they didn’t want us to google it
and panic, but for a while they actually didn’t know what it was. They also
told us to throw away any open food containers. People were posting to Facebook
and Instagram.”
Rabbi Teitz told JLNJ, “We are not alarmist, but we do have
to be cautious. We are cognizant that we live in a dangerous world, and that by
the very nature of being a Jewish school, we are seen as a target. We are
blessed to have a wonderful working relationship with the Elizabeth emergency
first responders, particularly the police department. We have reviewed our
emergency plans with them and will meet with them again as necessary to
maintain ‘best practices’ in securing our students and staff.”
Rabbi Oratz told JLNJ, “Within an hour of the evacuation I
was already being asked by the girls when we could go back to the Bruriah
building. Although most of the girls were already loaded on their buses when
the building was finally cleared to be re-entered, the majority requested to be
able to go in to get their books, even though we had already told them that
there would be no homework or tests on Friday.”
By 5:30 p.m., the usual time of dismissal, the building was
safe and cleared for use.
And students’ hopes about not having school the next day
were dashed. Said Rabbi Oratz, “The next morning, everyone was in school on
time and ready to learn. No one used the events of the previous afternoon as an
excuse to miss a day of school.”
Said Rabbi Teitz, “I am very proud of how everyone at
Bruriah, from Rabbi Oratz and his entire administrative team, to the staff and
students responded to the evacuation. We have a great team at the JEC, and it
showed on Thursday.”
SOURCE: http://jewishlinknj.com