Students and staff were evacuated from Lois Hornsby Middle School on Tuesday after the smell of smoke was detected. (WYDaily/Courtesy James City County)
WILLIAMSBURG — Students and staff were evacuated from Lois Hornsby Middle School in the afternoon of Tuesday, March 9 after a “smoke smell” was detected in the heating and cooling area of the school, said James City County (JCC) Fire Department Chief Ryan Ashe.
The JCC fire department received a call around 12:30 p.m. shortly before the school was scheduled to dismiss. Fire units responded to the building at 12:43 p.m., Ashe said.
Ashe added that the smell was not from a fire, but from a broken belt in the school’s HVAC system.