Staff and faculty acted quickly to evacuate students to safety and it was not a drill. Lunch was interrupted last Friday at Tucker Valley Elementary Middle School after smoke was detected in a classroom.
Parsons Volunteer Fire Department Chief, Kevin White, said, “Apparently a motor on an air conditioning unit overheated and the duct system brought smoke into one classroom.” PVFD was on scene within five minutes of the call with five units and 15 personnel. It only took staff and faculty two minutes to evacuate all students and personnel and the all clear was given after about 30 minutes. Exhaust fans were set up to draw the smoke out of the building.
Dr. Eddie Campbell, Superintendent of Tucker County Schools, said, “We were thankful it wasn’t anything major. Teachers and students followed protocol and everything went smoothly. It is good to know if any event happens in the future, everyone will get to safety quickly.”
Also on scene were units from the Tucker County Sheriff’s Department and Tucker County Emergency Medical Services. Sheriff, B.K. Wilfong commended the staff for the orderly evacuation, the quick response of the PVFD and said he was glad there were no injuries involved with the incident.
Units from Davis, Thomas, Canaan Valley and Leading Creek were on standby in the event they would have been needed.