Light controller malfunction at elementary school causes brief evacuation

Katie Kuba

May 15, 2019

Community Bulletin

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BUCKHANNON — Buckhannon Academy Elementary School students and staff were evacuated Wednesday morning after a malfunctioning light controller in the building’s boiler room began smoking.

Lt. Linn Baxa with the Buckhannon Fire Department said a light ballast in the utility/boiler room of the building malfunctioned.

“It just burned up and caused there to be a little bit of smoke in the room,” Baxa said. “There was no fire to put out. We investigated it and found the source. There was hardly any smoke when we got there.”

A light ballast regulates the electrical current to the long tube-shaped lights in the school, Baxa explained.

The incident occurred just prior to 9 a.m.

A firetruck can be seen in the parking lot behind Buckhannon Academy Elementary School on Wednesday morning after a brief smoke scare caused by a malfunctioning light ballast.

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