Alarms rang out at the Academies of Loudoun as students and staff rushed through the halls and out the doors when debris from a welding class sparked a fire on Tuesday, Sept. 17.
Firefighters arrived at the school and were able to find the source of the fire around 1:20 p.m. in the school’s fume extraction system. The various fire departments, including Leesburg, Kincora Lansdowne, Philomont, Sterling, Ashburn, and Moorefield, were able to fully extinguish the flames in an hour. The fire, while being relatively small, left the building empty for five days and the administration with an estimated $1 million worth of damages.
“I was in school when the fire occurred, and I was relatively close to it, so when we evacuated out I could see the smoke from where I was standing,” junior Jasper Gerrond said. “Initially, it was a little worrying, but we stood out there for so long the panic wore off.”
One firefighter and a civilian suffered minimal injuries and were later taken to the hospital for treatment. The Academies of Loudoun, specifically the MATA program, offers career specific classes, many of which require safety precautions and rules. The welding classes use real world and potentially hazardous machinery on a regular basis to learn how to be successful in the trade.
“I think what affected me most is my realization that Academies do have some advanced machinery for specialized programs that are dangerous,” sophomore Sheila Suarez said.
While clean up ensued, classes and schedules were affected. All classes were suspended until Sept. 23, and assignment deadlines were pushed back. While the suspension lasted only under a week, adjustments to the school’s rigorous curriculum still prompted students to reorganize themselves.
“My AET schedule is really tight, especially my DE Entrepreneurship II class,” Suarez said. “We are creating a business and have very strict deadlines. Missing those few classes put us back a bit, and we are working hard to get back on track.”
Even though change is currently working itself out at the magnet school, including possible restrictions or new protocols to lower the risk of accidents and anything like this repeating, students are finding the positive in their unique situation, like having an unanticipated break. The days off offered a chance for the students to breathe.
“I was able to use the school days that I had off to sleep in, study and complete any assignments ahead of time,” freshman Lily Mussoline said.
Once classes were back in full swing, students were able to return to their normal schedules. The only change that still is in effect is the closing off of welding classrooms as they were the only ones subjected to damages. Also, welding students have been redirected to different classrooms as repairs are in place.
“When we returned on Monday, there seemed to be no lasting damage,” Mussoline said. ”I think that most of my classmates assumed the fire to be much more than it was.”
