Early Dismissal For Catonsville Middle School Announced: BCPS

CATONSVILLE, MD — Catonsville Middle School will be closing at 1 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 7, Baltimore County Public School officials advised. All after-school and evening activities have been canceled.

Catonsville Middle School students will be dismissed from Westchester Elementary School at 2300 Old Frederick Road, where students and staff were relocated during an investigation. Baltimore County Public Schools attributed the evacuation and relocation to mechanical issues.

Catonsville Middle School was evacuated Friday due to an unusual odor, according to the Baltimore County Fire Department. Some students were experiencing symptoms after the issue was reported at the school on Edmondson Avenue, officials said. As a result, students and staff were relocated to Westchester Elementary School, less than a mile away.

Initially, crews were dispatched to Catonsville Middle School at 10:17 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 7, and found no danger upon checking the meters, the Baltimore County Fire Department said.

As students remained inside the building in the 2300 block of Edmondson Avenue, emergency medical personnel evaluated them.

After noon, public safety personnel said that both students and staff from Catonsville Middle School were being taken to Westchester Elementary School as a precaution.

"Some students are displaying non-life-threatening symptoms," fire officials said in a statement at 12:05 p.m.

Fire crews remained at Catonsville Middle School working to identify the problem and ventilate the building.

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