UPDATE (9:45 p.m.) — The cause of fire is still being investigated but Mt. Hope-Funks Grove Fire Chief Eric Fulk said it involved solar panels.
Around 12:50 pm fire units were dispatched to the school because of a fire on the gym roof. It took about 30 minutes to control the fire. It did not spread to any other parts of the building. The damage inside is from smoke and water.
Students were evacuated within three minutes. Families were able to unite with the close to 700 students at Minier Christian Church about 10 minutes away.
“”Doing those fire drills with the school and having the safety meetings that we’ve had with them everything from my side went well,” said Fulk.
Superintendent Laura O’Donnell said they have periodic drills and meetings with first responders throughout the year. The school actually had a drill planned for Friday. O’Donnell said the responders’ familiarity with the building was the reason everything went as well as it did on Thursday.
“This is why we practice these drills all the time. The response has been amazing from all of the communities. So, we’re very thankful. And even though we’re out here in the middle of nowhere the response time was relatively short,” said O’Donnell.
UPDATE (6:40 p.m.) — No classes for middle and high school students on Friday, April 14. No remote classes because laptops are on campus.
STANFORD, Ill. (WMBD) — Students were evacuated due to a fire at the Olympia middle/high school campus on Thursday.
According to an update on Facebook, all students and staff have been evacuated and are safe.
Parents are encouraged to not pick up students at this time.
High School students that drive have been released, and other students have been evacuated to Minier Christian Church, where they can be picked up.
Due to altered bus routes, elementary buses will not run their afternoon routes on time. Parents can pick up their elementary students from school but should call the school first.
This story will be updated.
