Students, faculty evacuated at Bloomfield Elementary School

Students, faculty and staff at Bloomfield Elementary School were evacuated when a fire alarm alerted the school’s staff about 8:40 a.m. Friday. The insulation on wiring in a heating/ air conditioning unit on the roof above the gymnasium melted, but did not ignite, according to Mark Thomas, executive director of instruction at Nelson County Schools.

The Northeast Nelson Volunteer Fire Department responded to the scene, examined the unit and determined it was safe for students and faculty to re-enter the building at 9:13 a.m.

“We have our maintenance staff on top of the building looking at the unit,” Thomas said. “We have shut down the blower and we have shut down the area (near the unit) until we have the electrical problem fixed.”