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Fire scare empties McIntosh

By LEE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@TheCitizenNews.com

Nearly 1,800 students and faculty were forced to evacuate from McIntosh High School in Peachtree City Friday morning when smoke triggered from a malfunctioning air conditioning system filled the counselors’ offices.

Peachtree City Fire/Rescue personnel responded to the school on Walt Banks Road to investigate the incident at 9:45 a.m. Classes were temporarily halted until 10:50 a.m. while fire crews and school maintenance personnel checked the building.

Principal Tracie Fleming indicated the evacuation was conducted flawlessly.

“We evacuate frequently because we have construction issues which causes our fire alarm to go off,” Fleming said. “This is our fourth evacuation this month, so we got out in record time.”

Fleming said the school was evacuated three times this month for a fire alarm and one time for a tornado drill. The classes were emptied during the drill, but the students did not have to leave the building, Fleming explained.

Assistant Peachtree City Fire Chief Ed Eiswerth indicated a haze permeated the building after smoke filled the counselors’ offices. After investigating the matter, he and the school maintenance personnel found the culprit.

“The conclusion was something burned up in the HVAC system,” Eiswerth said. “There was minimal damage done to the building.”

Maintenance personnel quickly addressed the problem, Fleming said.