Officials: Smoking Chromebook led to early dismissal at Wappingers Falls school
Firefighters and sheriff’s deputies responded shortly after the fire alarm was triggered at about 8:50 a.m.
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Wappingers Central School District officials say a student-issued Chromebook was the source of smoke that filled part of Roy C. Ketcham High School today, prompting an early dismissal.
Firefighters and sheriff’s deputies responded shortly after the fire alarm was triggered at about 8:50 a.m.
Officials say the smoke was coming from a student’s Chromebook, an electronic tablet made by Google. The district believes the device may have been tampered with, leading to the incident.
Students were evacuated, then allowed to return to parts of the school unaffected by the smoke before officials decided to dismiss all students for the day out of an abundance of caution.
"I was in gym. We were outside for like a good 20 minutes until they made us all go into the auditorium. We sat there for 30 minutes not knowing what was going on," said Senior Alyssa Kurlander.
Junior Siena Fowx added, "It was very calm. It was very well handled. No one was hurt that I'm aware of. There wasn't an ambulance. Everyone was healthy and good."
There were no injuries reported.
State fire inspectors now have the Chromebook and are working with the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office to determine what caused it to emit smoke.
