Thursday was anything but ordinary for students at Warren Area High School after a gas leak was detected in the lower portion of the high school in the morning.

Give credit to the school district and public safety officials for their handling of the situation – because things could have gone a lot worse.

Students were safely relocated to the Warren County Career Center, where local law enforcement and EMS services were present. EMS personnel evaluated any students experiencing symptoms, and 15 students and one adult were transported to the emergency room for further evaluation.

WAHS students were then transported to Beaty-Warren Middle School, where they were provided lunch and supervised while the situation at the high school was addressed. National Fuel conducted pressure testing to ensure the building was safe. Once the building was cleared, students were transported back to the high school and normal operations resumed at noon

This type of operation takes a lot of cooperation and communication amongst teachers and support staff at Warren Area High School, the Warren County Career Center and Beaty-Warren Middle School; the district administrative team; the district Buildings and Grounds crew, transportation staff, Nutrition Inc. and the district’s cafeteria staff, the Warren City Police Department, Pennsylvania State Police, and the Sheriff’s Office school resource officers; Warren Fire Department, Glade Fire Department, and EmergyCare; Warren Bus Lines, along with the bus drivers; Warren General Hospital; Ken McCorrison and the county Department of Public Safety; National Fuel; and district parents and families.

“I am fortunate that our district has such strong support from all of these entities, and today truly demonstrated how effectively we work together to ensure the safety and well-being of our students,” Gary Weber, district superintendent, said after the emergency subsided.

It wasn’t an easy day for anyone. It’s hard to say that a day when 15 students and an adult are taken to the hospital for evaluation is a good day. But the day could have been much, much worse had any of the moving parts amongst the school district, law enforcement or emergency workers broken down along the way.