SOUTH DEERFIELD — While the action was heating up on the court of the Goodnow Gymnasium Tuesday night, something got a little too heated in the art room.
A small fire broke out above the kiln in the room during the game between Frontier Regional School and Mahar Regional School toward the end of the first quarter, eventually forcing the gym to be evacuated and the game delayed for about 30 minutes.
At the time of the delay, the game was in between the first and second quarters, with the visiting Senators holding a 14-10 lead.
“There were a couple hundred people in the building, so I was really pleased with the staff’s quick reaction,” Frontier principal Darius Modestow said.
A parents’ night for the seventh grade was also going on during the game.
The fire itself was quickly contained and extinguished by longtime site administrator Mark Osborn, who first spotted the small blaze.
According to Modestow, the fire was out by the time many had left the building, with firefighters responding to vent out smoke and clear the scene.
After initial confusion, the crowds were told to leave the gym and head to the nearest lot or their cars to keep warm. Members of the Frontier band played songs and cheerleaders practiced routines and dances in the parking lot. Coaches talked with their players, with Mahar briefly heading back to their bus, while fans huddled around waiting for a return to action.
As they waited outside for the signal to come back in, many were confused about what happened, including the players.
“Everyone figured someone just pulled the fire alarm,” Frontier junior Carsten Carey said.
The delay reminded him of the infamous power outage at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome at Super Bowl XLVII in 2013.
“The Ravens were down just like we were down, (and) they came back and won the Super Bowl. So that definitely played in favor for us,” Carey said.
During the delay, Carey said he and his fellow Red Hawks sat around relaxing and listening to music, while never focusing on the game in front of them.
“Our coach put in some good words for us on how to conduct ourselves in the second quarter,” Carey added.
Frontier won the game.