Do you have any firing pointers for school teachers?

Maintenance men occasionally stand on a kiln to reach something. When your kiln is idle, keep a sign on the lid in English and Spanish:

• Do not stand on the kiln.
• Do not move the kiln.
• Do not place anything on top of it.

(Reminder: Remove any signs from your kiln before you fire it.) Tell the school principal and the maintenance department that the kiln is fragile. At one school, the maintenance man turned off the kiln because he heard a clicking noise. So the teacher now explains kiln operation to the maintenance staff each year. She also places a sign on the door: Kiln is Firing. The beeping temperature alarm of a digital kiln frightens students and maintenance people because they assume that something is wrong. If you use an alarm, tell others what it means. If the kiln room is too hot and you smell fumes even though you have an overhead Vent-a-Kiln vent hood, have the maintenance people check the ductwork for obstructions. It is not uncommon for something on the roof to cover the duct outlet. Do not install a fire safety sprinkler head above the kiln. A school in Frisco, Texas was flooded because a kiln turned on the sprinkler system. This is another reason to monitor the kiln during firing. A Reminder: A kiln will discolor linoleum tile. Place a heat-resistant material between the kiln stand and linoleum.