Gas smell delays Cloquet schools

A strong smell of gas inside the Cloquet Senior High building led to a two-hour delay of classes Thursday for both the high school and the middle school Thursday, March 7.

According to a district press release, the administration was notified of the smell at 7:30 a.m., and students and staff were immediately evacuated to two nearby churches — St. Paul’s Lutheran for CHS and Journey Christian Church for CMS — previously designated as emergency shelters.

CHS principal Steve Battaglia said close to 150 high school students were evacuated, while the district’s emergency phone system managed to reach other students and their parents before they left for school.

There was never actually any gas in the building, Battaglia said, noting that the smell came from a cracked seal on a gas meter outside the building near an air intake. No gas actually leaked; the odorant escaped because it’s lighter than gas, he explained.

“There was never any danger in the building, even when the smell was at its worst,” Battaglia said. “We had seven firefighters, all with monitors, testing for gas, carbon monoxide, all kinds of chemicals and they found nothing.”

Although the timing was inconvenient because many students were already on their way to school, Battaglia said things went well.

“Everyone did a great job,” he said. “The teachers got the students evacuated and the buses were diverted.”

School started two hours later, once the seal was repaired by utility crews.