Fire Evacuation at the Ice Rink

KN has been taking ice skating lessons for a little over a month now. Usually, my mom comes over to stay with the other three kids while I take KN to her 30 minute lesson however my mom was visiting my brothers and nieces yesterday so I had to pack up all 4 kids and take them along to sit in the freezing ice arena to watch KN. She has been wanting to take advantage of the two free skate sessions included in her 8 week course and we decided we would stay for a free skate session after her regular lesson last night if Little J wasn't too hungry or fussy. CT would also get a chance to ice skate with his sister. So, here's me, baby in stroller, back pack full of ice skate gear and snacks and the four kids. After the lesson I sat them down on a bench and bought them a hotdog while we waited for the free skate to start. At that moment I hear someone yell " Everyone needs to exit the building!" I'm thinking maybe this is typical and they need to clean up the ice to ready for the next session so I grab our back pack and begin to turn the stroller around. The adult voice continues to get louder and more urgent, yelling " EVERYONE EXIT THE BUILDING NOW!" Then another starts shouting the same thing over and over, I'm already heading to the first set of doors, glancing over my shoulder to check that CT is at my left and KN with ice skates still on is on my right. A good friend of ours brings her granddaughter to the same lessons and is there with us. I hear her tell MN to take her hand so she does not get trampled! Thank you! I'm very glad she is there as people are starting to panic, rushing the doors and pushing. Young girls are crying and screaming and kids are yelling " I still have my skates on!!!" We get through the first set of doors and the mad dash only gets worse on our way to the main exit. I'm just concentrating on safely and calmly getting all of my kids out the door without having the baby in the stroller run over by shoving adults and teenage girls in ice skates. We make it safely to the side walk out front - I check all of my children, our friend has brought MN, who's still gripping her hotdog, safely over to me. CT is a bit scared but all are kind of enjoying the 5 big firetrucks in front of us and the big ladder going up to the roof with firemen climbing it. We're then all told to move away from the building and out to the parking lot. We decide to get the kids safely corralled in the bed of my pickup. A few minutes later we're told we need to leave our vehicle because we're still too close. We, and a few hundred others all gather around a telephone pole, most have their cell phones out snapping photos. I didn't bring my camera this week and don't own a cell phone - so - no cool photos of the firemen climbing the big ladder to the roof to put out the fire on the roof. The staff collects all of the rental ice skates worn outside and directs the crowd as more fire trucks arrive. Then we start to smell smoke like something electrical was burning but we're told it's under control and we'll be allowed to leave in a few minutes. I, along with the help of our friend and her granddaughter, get my kids loaded up in our truck - our friend can't leave because her vehicle is blocked next to the building behind a firetruck. Little J picks this time to have his diaper on wrong and soak through his clothes, otherwise - he seems to be enjoying all of the action and the kids have just been safely through their very first fire evacuation. Apparently there was a fire in the roof somewhere. After I get home the kids want to talk about it and I'm extremely thankful it happened while we were gathered together sitting and eating as opposed to later when the kids could have been way out on the ice rink, frantically trying to slip and slide their way back to the ice rink door and over to me! I also realize this is the 2nd time I've been evacuated from that building. The first time was when I was around 5 years old and we were there for a church function. All of the children were in one of the conference rooms to be babysat while the adults were in another and it was nighttime. There was a power outage and the entire building went black. I remember hearing a grownup say " It's okay, everyone sit right where you are - we're going to find a flashlight and we'll get you to your parents. " I remember not being scared and staying right where I was until someone approached with a small flashlight and led me to my mom. I remember thinking how big and scary the ice rink looked. Maybe that's why I've never learned to ice skate?