Midwest City High School students filed out of the building Thursday morning after smoke was spotted in the school's kitchen, prompting an evacuation while fire crews checked out the source. No injuries were reported, and students were eventually allowed back inside once the situation was resolved.
The Midwest City Fire Department said smoke could be seen coming out of the cafeteria vents, according to News 9, which reported the evacuation Thursday morning. Stacey Boyer, Mid-Del Public Schools' executive director of community relations, said a malfunction involving the school's HVAC system was identified as the source of the smoke, the same report noted.
Students Cleared to Return
The incident involved smoke tied to a mechanical issue. KFOR reported separately that students had been evacuated and were later let back into the building.
News 9 reported that nobody was injured, and students were later allowed to return to the building.
A Familiar Scenario for Mid-Del Schools
This isn't the first time an HVAC-related smoke scare has sent a Mid-Del school building into evacuation mode this year. Back in January, Midwest City Middle School was evacuated on a Wednesday afternoon after smoke was reported inside the building, according to the Central Oklahoma Weeklies. In that case, a school resource officer called 911 around 2:22 p.m. after noticing smoke in the hallways, the outlet reported.
Fire crews responding to that January incident did not locate an active fire, and officials said a rooftop HVAC unit in that section of the building likely malfunctioned, per the same report. Students and staff were bused to another site that day, where families were reunited with their kids, and the superintendent said classes were expected to resume as normal the next day, though some repairs would be needed. There isn't enough evidence to call this a pattern across the district, but the similarities between the two incidents are notable for families keeping an eye on building maintenance issues at Mid-Del schools.
