FARMINGTON — The Mt. Blue Campus was evacuated Thursday morning after a smell of propane gas was reported, which fire and gas company officials determined was a false alarm.
“There was a smell of propane in the school,” Farmington Fire Rescue Department Chief Terry Bell said. “We did evacuate it. The propane company came and checked out stuff and everything was fine.”
Responding to situation, administrators and School Resource Officer Bridgette Gilbert quickly made an assessment and evacuated the building as a precaution, according to a letter from Monique Poulin, interim superintendent of Regional School Unit 9, to the community on the Mt. Blue Campus Facebook page.
The campus includes Mt. Blue High School and Foster Career and Technical Education Center.
Fire and police personnel responded about 10:47 a.m. and students were bused off campus.
The Dead River Co. inspected and tested the system at the campus and found no leaks, Bell said.
Students and staff returned about 12:30 p.m., Poulin said.
“We would like to thank the Farmington Police Department and Farmington Fire Department for
their quick response,” Poulin wrote. “We also want to thank our RSU 9 bus drivers for immediately coming to pick up our students. Finally, we send our appreciation to district and (Mount Blue Campus) staff members who quickly jumped in to assist, as well as our students who were patient as we navigated the evacuation and return to campus.”
She said, “We understand the frustration of not having all the answers in the moment, but please know the safety of our students and staff was our top priority. Our goal was to communicate accurate
updates as information became available, and we hope that this communication helps to clarify
the circumstances at (Mount Blue Campus) today. We appreciate your patience and understanding.”
RSU 9 serves students from Chesterville, Farmington, Industry, New Sharon, New Vineyard, Starks, Temple, Vienna, Weld and Wilton.
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