By Lily Rhodes
A propane leak at Palm Beach Central High School prompted a Code Yellow evacuation during sixth period Wednesday, Oct. 21, sending students from Building 4 and portable classrooms 10 through 17 to the auditorium.
According to an email Principal Reggie Myers sent to families and staff, a smell of gas was reported on campus at approximately 1:35 p.m. The north side of campus, including Building 4, was evacuated as emergency crews responded.
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue identified a propane leak and addressed the issue, confirming there was no danger to campus, according to Myers’ email. During the response, the entire campus was placed on limited movement, and Code Yellow remained in effect.
Students were instructed to leave their classrooms and report to the auditorium, but some said they were confused about the situation and whether they should bring their belongings.
“We were about to start a Kahoot, but then all of a sudden we heard an announcement that we had to calmly go to the auditorium, and everyone was really confused,” Melia Camhi said.
Camhi, who was in Building 4, said students initially received conflicting instructions about whether to take their belongings. After some students had already packed their things, staff members instructed them to leave the classrooms.
Once in the auditorium, students said they received little information about what had happened.
“In the auditorium, no one told us what was going on, and the way I found out was a photo of an email from my dad,” Camhi said.
Aniyah Medina, who was in one of the portable classrooms, recalled hearing an ambulance shortly before the evacuation announcement.
“I was just sitting there doing my work, and then I hear the ambulance. I thought it was my teacher’s music playing, and then two seconds later, the announcements came on saying we need to leave the portables,” Medina said.
Medina also described seeing her teacher rush to gather his belongings as students prepared to evacuate. Students remained in the auditorium through seventh period until dismissal.
For students who left their belongings behind, the evacuation continued to affect them after the school day ended. Students were not permitted to return to their classrooms to retrieve their items until the following day.
After dismissal, Myers sent another email addressing fuel tank maintenance taking place on campus. The email stated that crews would continue maintenance throughout the night and that flames could be visible from campus during the process.
The maintenance was expected to conclude before the start of school Thursday, Oct. 22. Myers confirmed that Palm Beach Central would return to normal operations and follow its regular schedule.
