LHS students and staff were sent out into the cold again today for almost 20 minutes in near freezing temperatures and biting wind when a fire alarm sounded around 9 a.m. They huddled in groups, hid behind vehicles in the parking lot, and jumped up and down to try to keep warm.
Unlike the alarm earlier in the year, this one was in response to an actual fire according to administrators. Someone apparently set a fire in a trash can in the pool hallway.
“At 9:10am, the fire alarm sounded,” associate principal Mark Larson said in an email to staff. “Very quickly, campus security found a trash can that had been lit on fire.”
The fire was put out with a fire extinguisher by Larson after Campus Supervisor Dave Medina carried the burning trash can outside. Science teacher Sharill Luedtke also assisted to the cheers of students, according to senior witness Donovan Comer.
PE teacher Amy Cariotto kept students warm by inviting them to line dance, according to Special Ed teacher C.J. Brison.
“We are beginning our investigation now with the Fire Inspector,” Larson said.
Upon re-entering the warm building, one student was heard to say, “I’ve never been so happy to be in school.”
Yvonne Meyer • Jan 29, 2015 at 1:47 pm
The students on the west side of the school kept warm by playing music on a speaker and had an impromptu dance party, another student played the ukelele and we all thought of Hawaii, I saw people sharing coats and looking out for each other. It made me proud to see how we not only made the best of the situation but took the opportunity to help each other out. We have a great community here at LHS.