Toano Middle School was evacuated Friday morning after the school’s resource officer noticed a natural gas odor near the school’s boiler room.
Officials tell NewsChannel 3 the school resource officer contacted the fire department at 8:07 a.m. Friday morning.
Fire crews were on the scene within minutes; when they arrived, the school had been evacuated.
The area did not test positive for natural gas; crews conducted tests and all came back negative.
Officials shut off the gas supply before conducting those tests.
Fire crews ventilated the building and students were let back into the building shortly after 9 a.m.
The school recently had three gas water heaters installed. When they went to inspect them, there was a problem with the vents.
Two of the three water heaters were shut down for repairs.
The odor was caused by bad ventilation coming from one of those heaters in the kitchen area. The kitchen area is now closed.
Stay with NewsChannel 3 for updates.
