Highland was forced to evacuate it’s second and third floors around 9:50 after reports of a strong smell that was suspected of being a gas leak. After the fire department came and investigated, finding no traces of gas, gave the all clear around 10:20 to return to classes.
The fire department believes that a stink bomb was planted in one of the bathrooms.
Calls started coming in from teachers at 9:39 reporting an alarming smell.
“In my agricultural class, we’re talking about animals and agriculture, and we’re looking at a cuts of meat video,” Doug Jorgensen, the biology teacher and one of the first to report the smell, said. “And then I smelled this smell out here…I went, and I checked the biotech room and the chemistry lab to see if the gas was on there because it smelled like that.”
Worries came in of a gas leak because of a strong, propane-like smell on the second and third floor.
At first, it was highly concentrated in the science half of D Hall before the gas spread to the rest of the floor.
“My students said they smelled propane,” Emily Paxton, a language arts teacher and another one of the first to report the smell, said. “My TA went over to where they were, and he said ’yeah, it definitely smells like some sort of gas.’ And then I went in the hall…and the hall was very strong. I could smell it even with my cold. So, I took my kids outside.”
The administration, learning that there was a concern of a gas leak, called the fire department to come take a look just to be safe after the custodian reported no gas with their older equipment.
“I was at my district meeting that I have every Thursday,” Principal Jeremy Chatterton said. “And got a text saying that there was concern of a gas leak and some students were starting to evacuate. So, I called here, spoke with Ms. Bliss, and she informed me on the conversations that were going on here, decided that we needed to call the fire department to have them come check the area if they could, and we decided at that point to evacuate the building.”
The fire department, after a thorough search, also found no evidence of a gas leak.
“It definitely was coming from the vents,” Paxton said. “In my room, you could smell it strongest under that square one [one of the larger vents on the wall.]”
The administration is now in the middle of an investigation to discover the cause of the smell, and after counsel with the fire department, are looking for the perpetrator.
