The high school evacuated this afternoon after smoke from a cafeteria microwave triggered a smoke detector.
The Shaker Heights Fire Department arrived at 12:16 p.m.. Students and staff re-entered the building at 12:25 p.m.
Principal Eric Juli extended the B lunch block by 10 minutes, removing the passing period between B and C lunch. The rest of the day’s schedule remained unchanged.
Juli said that there is no indication that the alarm was set off intentionally. “I think that is just someone trying to heat up their lunch and not thinking about the outcome,” he said.
Last week, alarms sounded at 8:10 a.m. due to preparations for an art class which involved boiling vegetables to make dye.
“I got a little nervous because it was loud and unexpected, but I’m really used to it by now,” senior Sam Juli said.
Junior Malachi Crans was in the cafeteria when the alarm sounded. “I just wanted to get my food,” Crans said. He also said he was startled when metal fire doors between the two sides of the upper cafeteria rolled shut.
“We have a 2023 alarm system in a 1920s building; that is always going to be a challenge,” Eric Juli said. “But it’s a great system that keeps us safe, so I appreciate the system, and this is what we have to do.”
