UPDATE: Robinson School Evacuation

Earlier reports of a possible leak in the roof at the are false said Nicholas Riccio, Building Inspector for the Town of Mansfield. Riccio said in a short interview at the Robinson School today, that a report from some staff members that there may be some deflection of the roof,  led school officials to decide to evacuate students.  The town moved in quickly to inspect the roof  in the wake reports of roof collapses statewide.

"The school erred on the side of caution and evacuated the building," said Riccio.

Robinson Principal Kate Kristenson said that the decision to reroute the students to separate locations took place before any students disembarked from buses this morning. She stated that the few children who were in the building at the time were evacuated in about five minutes.

Students from the kindergarten were bused to theStudents from grade 1 are at the and students from grade 2 are at the

The said all Robinson students will return home on their regular buses at their regular times today.

Riccio said outside engineers are being brought in to clear the snow from the school roof, along with the aid of the fire department. Once the roof is clear, an inspection will take place to determine if the building is safe to return the students. Though no one would speculate as to how long the clearing process would take, it is estimated the children will remain in the temporary locations with their teachers for the remainder of the school day.

Riccio and several fire department officials praised the proactive efforts of the school administration. The school department and administration at the Robinson school want to assure parents that safety of the children remains the primary concern.

Police, fire, town  and school officials remain on the scene at this time.