A gas leak and evacuation Friday at Hose Elementary made for a memorable last day of the school for students, staff, and administrators.
The leak, discovered at approximately 11 a.m. at 800 Fairview Ave., forced students and staff to initially evacuate to the playground area.
However, the Crawfordsville Fire Department determined there was a need to evacuate the site, so district officials implemented safety protocols and arranged for the busing of students and staff to Crawfordsville High School. All students and staff were at CHS by 11:45 a.m.
“I am grateful for the efforts of the gas company, Crawfordsville Fire Department, and the Crawfordsville Police Department to collaborate with our Safety Response Team to keep our students and staff safe,” said Superintendent
Dr. Rex Ryker. “Our bus drivers, grounds, maintenance,
administrators, and both CHS and Hose staff executed our evacuation and reunification protocol to near perfection.”
While evacuating an entire building to another building requires a massive response and staff, Ryker said they were prepared.
“This is why we do evacuation and reunification drills,” he said.
Hose Elementary had participated in this exact drill in March 2023.
Ryker said the district’s transportation department had buses ready in minutes, and drivers responded almost instantly.
Teachers cared for and comforted students as they evacuated from Hose to the CHS auditorium.
“This situation occurred during lunch, so our food service staff from Hose and CHS quickly made lunch at CHS and served our Hose students in the auditorium,” Ryker said.
Staff also provided entertainment and comfort for the young students.
“We will learn lessons from this situation, but overall, we executed our plan, were able to account for all of our students, and kept them safe,” he said.
