Elizabeth—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.”
