Crime & Safety
Fire Scare Disrupts Holiday Event at Arbutus Elementary
Overheated HVAC motor filled cafeteria with smoke.
About a half-hour before the annual Santa's Workshop event was to begin at Arbutus Elementary School on Friday night, an overheated ventilation system motor filled the cafeteria with smoke and forced the postponement of festivities.
Santa's Workshop featured crafts, food, photos with Santa and other affordable fun, and was to be held from 6-8 p.m.
As the event was being set up, the cafeteria was found filled with smoke. "The whole cafeteria was smoky and hard to breathe in," an Arbutus PTA representative posted on Facebook.
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Arbutus Volunteer Fire Department responded at around 5:30 p.m. The cause of the smoke was found to be an overheated motor in the cafeteria, according to Lt. Norman V. Simpkins, Jr.
There was no fire, and nobody was hurt during the incident, according to Simpkins.
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AVFD crews placed fans in the school to clear out the smoke, and decided that the Santa's Workshop event could not be held in that environment.
Santa's Workshop has been rescheduled for Friday, Dec. 9.
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