THORNDIKE — Mount View High School was evacuated Thursday morning after a staff member reported the smell of gas coming from a class room.
Jason Trundy, chief deputy of the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office, said the Thorndike Fire Department was notified at 7:55 a.m., when most of the students were still on buses on their way to school.
Within a minute of the initial call, fire departments from Thorndike, Freedom, Unity and Montville responded.
Soon as the smell of gas was detected, members of the school staff began to evacuate the few students inside the building and rerouted the arriving students to the bus garage about 200 yards from the school.
Firefighters soon discovered the gas was coming from an open gas valve in one of the science labs. Trundy said although the gas main to that classroom had been shut off, a small amount of gas leaked out and produced an odor.
The evacuation lasted until about 9 a.m., after which students and staff members were allowed to return to the building.
Mount View is the high school serving Regional School Unit 3, which includes Brooks, Freedom, Jackson, Knox, Liberty, Monroe, Montville, Thorndike, Troy, Unity and Waldo.
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