After detecting an odor of gas Tuesday during lunch, students and staff were instructed to evacuate to the football stadium.

The fire department concluded that the natural gas smell did not originate from the campus, but rather from a “nicked pipe” from the construction site at the bottom of Wildcat Way. Within 30 minutes, the fire department gave students and teachers permission to return to their fifth period classes.

“The students and the staff did an outstanding job of evacuating. It probably took 10 minutes to clear the campus and that was possible because the students and the staff were cooperative and followed the procedures,” said Parish.

According to Parish, this incident served as a good example of why the school exercises emergency drills. The annual district-wide drill will occur Oct. 15.