|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
A lithium-ion battery was to blame for a fire at Menlo-Atherton High School’s Performing Arts Center Friday afternoon.
No one was injured during the incident, which originated in the center’s control booth, Principal Karl Loosekoot said in an email to the school community. Three school staff members discovered the source of the smoke shortly after the fire alarm went off around 4:20 p.m. and “extinguished the fire immediately.”
Students had already evacuated when fire crews arrived at the scene at 4:26 p.m., according to Dan Coyle, Menlo Park Fire’s deputy chief. When firefighters entered the building, they found an off-gassing lithium-ion battery pack. This prompted a consult with the district’s hazmat team, he said.
“We always do a hazmat consult when we deal with battery fires, just because of the nature of those incidents,” Coyle said. Because the battery had cooled off and was outside of any buildings, the fire district left the battery for the school to dispose of.
The staff members who extinguished the fire were medically evaluated at the scene because they potentially inhaled gas. One of them elected to be transported to a local hospital, Coyle said.
“We are immensely proud of our staff who responded quickly and we are glad that all students are safe,” Loosekoot said in the email.
Most Popular
Parent group calls for Sequoia high school district superintendent to be firedSeptember 10, 2026 5:09 pm
