Originally published on The Daily NEWS
WEST NEWBURY – Pentucket Regional High School staff and students were evacuated from the building Friday morning after a science experiment there went awry.
West Newbury and Groveland firefighters responded to the Main Street school around 8:30 a.m. after being notified that a routine science experiment went wrong when a cloud caused by the experiment was sucked out the window of one classroom and into another.
Firefighters working with a HazMat team member from the Amesbury Fire Department determined there was no danger because the cloud consisted only of water vapor.
As a precaution, the building was evacuated, according to West Newbury Fire Chief Michael Dwyer and Groveland Fire Chief Robert Valentine.
The experiment involved sodium and water and is a routine part of the science curriculum. Fire crews cleared the area by 9:44 a.m., and classes resumed, according to fire officials.
The Groveland Fire Department automatically responds as a mutual aid partner when alarms are activated at the high school. Groveland firefighters provided station coverage in West Newbury in addition to providing support on-scene. Atlantic Ambulance also responded to the high school and evaluated students and staff in the two classrooms as a precautionary measure.
