Mt View School Complex Evacuated After Teacher Smelled Gas

Fire officials say the situation is under control after a teacher at the Mt. View School complex, who smelled gas, activated the fire alarm.

The Waldo County Sheriff's Office says students were immediately evacuated from the Thorndike school and held on school buses in a safe location until the building was cleared by fire department personnel.  Members of the fire and police departments, as well as a gas company employee, inspected the school and determined that the smell came from a small amount of gas that had been released from a gas valve on one of the tables in a science lab classroom.

Re-opening the school was delayed briefly because pilot lights needed to be reignited in the kitchen. The sheriff's office thanked everyone on their Facebook page, especially parents and loved ones of students, for their patience during a stressful morning, and commended everyone involved for keeping the students and staff members safe.