Ridgewood Middle School students and staff were evacuated this morning (Sept. 21) after an air-conditioning unit overheated, leaving a smoky smell in the library, said Ron Harder, spokesman for the Rock Community Fire Protection District.
Other than the air-conditioning unit, which burned up, there was no damage to the school, which is off Hwy. 141 west of Arnold, Harder said.
The incident happened about 8:45 a.m., and students and staff were able to return to classes after about an hour, said Harder, who, coincidentally, was at the school when the librarian smelled smoke and reported it.
Harder said he had just finished teaching an allergy awareness class at the school and was getting ready to leave when the smoke smell was reported.
“The principal ran out (to get Harder before he left) and said the librarian had smelled smoke, so I immediately had the principal pull the fire alarm, and they evacuated the building,” he said. “I got on the radio with dispatch and a full first-alarm was sounded, which brought the entire Rock Community staff in.”
He said any report of smoke or fire at a school is taken seriously.
When the first firefighters arrived on the scene, they noticed steam coming from the roof and determined that one of the air-conditioning units on the roof had overheated. That’s what caused the smell, Harder said.
Ridgewood Middle is part of the Fox C-6 School District, which has two high schools, four middle school and 11 elementary schools, as well as an Early Childhood Center and an alternative high school.