UPDATE: Students at Fox Run School, and the connected Mother Teresa School are learning from home Wednesday, after a mechanical belt malfunctioned.
The small belt in a mechanical room on the upper levels of Fox Run School malfunctioned and caused a large amount of smoke to set off the alarms.
Chinook’s Edge Superintendent Kurt Sacher said it doesn’t look like there was a fire at all.
“As a precaution we sent all the kids home and moved to online learning for the day,” Sacher said.
The problematic belt is a relatively quick and inexpensive fix, according to Sacher. This means the students will be able to return to classes as normal on Jan. 28.
The alarm went off in the school around 8:10 a.m. on Jan. 27, before any of the students were at the school.
Staff from Fox Run met the students outside the school and turned them away. Students who were bused to school were also sent home. Those who were unable to be dropped off at home were dropped off at H.J. Cody School, to await their parents to pick them up.
Because Fox Run School is connected to another middle school, Mother Teresa School, the Catholic school students were also sent home as a precaution.
Sacher says the Sylvan Lake RCMP and Fire Department acted quickly and were “exceptional.”
He continued by thanking the work of the local departments as well as the work Fox Run staff put in to ensure everyone’s safety.
No on was hurt as a result of the fire call, Sacher says.
“We are online today and the kids will be back in class tomorrow. One positive thing to come out of COVID is that we are prepared to go to online learning in times of disruption like this,” said Sacher.
Original: Students from Fox Run School are asked to stay home today as Sylvan Lake RCMP and Fire Department are on site responding to a call.
Students who take the bus home are being transported back home, according to the school’s Facebook page.
HJ Cody School will be opening its doors to students who need a place to stay warm while waiting for rides from their parents.