City Fire Department Responds to St. Mary's

St. Mary's Church on Duke of Gloucester Street was evacuated by students and faculty briefly Tuesday when crews responded to what was determined to be a faulty sprinkler head.

According to a news tip submitted by a Patch reader, the incident occurred while St. Mary's elementary students were in prayer service.

Capt. Robert Christian, a public information officer for the Annapolis Fire Department (AFD), said the malfunctioning sprinkler head was mitigated, and the area endured "mainly water damage."

City fire crews responded to the building at around 10:45 a.m. Tuesday.

According to an e-mail release from Tony Spencer, a public information officer for the AFD, the faulty sprinkler head was found in a closet in the living area of a second-floor residence in the church. The release, which attributes the St. Mary's facilities director, states that the area received an "extensive but undetermined" amount of damage from the second floor to the basement.

According to the release, the crews left the scene shortly after noon. No further information is available at this time. 

Editor's note- this story was updated to reflect that officials said the sprinkler head was found in the second floor.