Fire Drills Ain't No Joke in Japan

So I witnessed my first school fire drill the other day. It was scary. It was so real and the atmosphere so tense that I had to constantly look down to make sure I wasn't burning from the flames that I couldn't see but knew must have existed. There was fake smoke everywhere!! I don't know how they did it, but the blokes from the fire department (yes, they're on hand during the drill to oversee everything) made sure the first floor and courtyard were blanketed in thick, white smoke. The students, calm as cucumbers, walked in an orderly fashion into the gym (it was raining heavily outside) and quickly formed rows according to class. Very few students spoke, the lines were perfectly straight. When all students were accounted for by their homeroom teachers, the principal gave a speach. Then the chief of the fire department gave a speech. Then each homeroom teacher had his/her students form a small circle so they could discuss how to save fellow students and teachers in case of emergency during a fire. I found this part very Japanese--discussing how to preserve the strength of the group in case disaster strikes. No one is left behind, the classes leave as a unit, even if each kid has to drag out a body.