Brief Evacuation at Mt. Bethel ES

was briefly evacuated before classes began Monday morning because of smoke detected in the media center. 

Students and staff safely left the building around 7:10 a.m., and were allowed to return around 8 a.m. 

spokesman Doug Goodwin said the alarm was triggered by smoke coming from an air conditioning unit in the media center but nothing caught fire and maintenance staff promptly made repairs. 

Goodwin said few students were in the building at the time, and that drop-off routes were changed and bus deliveries were held up until given the all-clear by the .

"Please know, at no time were your children in any danger," according to a statement issued to parents on a Mt. Bethel PTA e-mail. "Each month we hold fire drills to practice for a fire emergency, but we could never practice for this type of emergency at this time of day. The children, however, are well prepared to respond to emergency directions because of our drills and they responded beautifully to the situation this morning. The Fire Chief complimented our school and told us that whenever we call them, we have the building clear and the children are always quiet, orderly and well behaved.

"After entering the building, our day proceeded as normal! Thank you to all of the staff, students and parents for responding so quickly and appropriately to this situation."