Malfunctioning JH Elementary School safety system triggers alarm

Friday, January 26, 2007

By Lucille Rice

At approximately 11:45 a.m. this morning, the Jackson Elementary School was evacuated. Students, teachers, and employees fled the building to safety.  

A system malfunction of the electrical fire panel, part of the school’s Watchdog emergency safety system, triggered the fire alarm.  

The fire department, which arrived with one fire engine, one rescue truck, one ambulance, and two command vehicles, entered the building for inspection.  

The evacuees were sent to wait in the gymnasium, an annexed building deemed safe by the fire department at the time, to stay out of the cold.

Technicians of the school’s safety system were called in to inspect the panel, said Christy Carlson, Captain and Fire Inspector at the Jackson Hole Fire/EMS Department.

Once the technicians repaired the minor glitch in the system and the fire inspectors deemed the building safe, the fire department gave the “all clear” announcement and allowed students to resume classes and lunchtime.  

Interim Custodian Rick Chambers said that the system had malfunctioned earlier this morning, prior to the fire alarm. A light that was not supposed to be flashing was blinking yellow. Shortly thereafter, the alarm went off.  

Students, faculty, and staff were back in business after a short 45 minutes of waiting in the gym.
PERMALINK:
Malfunctioning JH Elementary School safety system triggers alarm | Planet JH News Article: Jackson Elementary School

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