There was an emergency evacuation at Archie Stouffer Elementary School following reports of a “suspected gas smell” at the Minden school Friday afternoon (March 1).
At 2:26 p.m. Carolynne Bull, communications lead for Trillium Lakelands District School Board, issued a media release stating all staff and students are safe and have been evacuated to the nearby Minden arena. Bull told The Highlander students will remain at the arena for the rest of the school day. School buses will run their usual routes, picking up students from the arena. Bull said parents/guardians are welcome to collect their child from the arena at any time.
The Minden Hills Fire Department were on-site at the school for much of the afternoon investigating. They determined the smell was caused by an overheating bluetooth speaker battery. Students were back in class on Monday (March 4) morning.
Editor’s note – this story has been updated from an earlier version.
