Columbus East High School evacuated this morning after a fire alarm went off at the school, although there was no fire, said Larry Perkinson, Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. employee and student assistance coordinator.
Columbus firefighters were called to the school at 8 a.m., notified by East’s fire alarm system, said Capt. Mike Wilson, Columbus Fire Department spokesman.
Firefighters from Engine 3 determined students were carrying mats and wooden framing used for the basketball sectional in a school hallway and struck a fire alarm box, breaking off its cover and activating the alarm, Wilson said.
Ruling the incident accidental, firefighters were at the scene for about 10 minutes and students would have returned inside the school during that time, he said.
Perkinson said he believes BCSC schools have been reviewing safety protocols in the wake of the Parkland, Florida shooting incident last week.
An East student who was arrested Tuesday on a felony charge of intimidation was scheduled to appear today in juvenile court before Magistrate Heather Mollo, according to the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s office. The juvenile was accused of making a threat against the high school on social media.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
