Barrington school evacuated after natural gas detected

Students, teachers and others inside Hampden Meadows School at 4 p.m. last Thursday, Nov. 13, were evacuated from the building after someone detected the odor of natural gas.

The school dismisses at 3:20 p.m., but there were still some people inside the building at 4.

According to police and school officials, the smell was traced back to a boiler room at the school and was immediately addressed. There reportedly was a problem with a valve on a boiler.

Later that day Tracey McGee, the principal at Hampden Meadows School, sent an email to parents of HMS students alerting them to what had happened.

“Dear Families, After school today at approximately 4 p.m. we evacuated the HMS due to the smell of gas. The Fire Department was called and National Grid responded as well. National Grid has given the approval to occupy the building. Since this was a secondary heating system this will not affect the opening of school tomorrow.

“Repairs are scheduled to be completed tomorrow morning.”