On Sept. 17, just minutes before the 1:00 p.m. lunch bell, the Academies of Loudoun students’ school day was interrupted by the blaring of an unexpected fire alarm. A fire had started in the welding classroom from debris or sparks interfering with the school’s fume extractor system.
Students and staff were evacuated and sent buses to drive them back to their home schools. The bus back to Valley was one of the last few buses to arrive.
“We were on the field for a good two and a half to three hours,” junior Jay Jensen said.
Many students were frustrated by the lack of communication during and after the incident, making it difficult to contact family and friends and to recover the items left at the school during evacuation.
Damages to the building are estimated at 1 million. The school remains closed today, and word on whether the school will be open tomorrow will come out this evening.
“I was sort of hoping that they wouldn’t reopen, so that I wouldn’t have to do my homework,” senior Max Riley said. “We’re crossing our fingers that it’s closed tomorrow.”
