By Aren Framil, Co-News Editor

On Monday, Oct. 2, a small fire in one of Conestoga’s consumer sciences kitchens set off a schoolwide fire alarm around 9 a.m., causing students and staff to evacuate the building. A second evacuation took place on Friday, Oct. 6 around 1 p.m. due to faulty machinery setting off the alarm. 

Monday’s fire resulted from a Regional Cuisine student mixing oil and grease in a hot pan, jumpstarting a combustion reaction. According to family and consumer sciences teacher Grace Hafer, who was present when the fire started, she put out the blaze with a nearby fire extinguisher once her students left the kitchen. Berwyn Fire Company sent fire trucks to the scene and allowed students and staff to reenter the building after concluding it was safe to do so.

On Friday, the alarm went off for the second time this week. Students and staff cleared the building, and Berwyn Fire Company once again sent trucks to the school. According to an email sent to faculty, the alarm was determined to be caused by a faulty smoke detector head. After no fire or smoke were detected in the building, school operations resumed as normal.

Aren Framil can be reached at [email protected].