L’école Émilie-Tremblay and its neighbouring daycare were closed this morning after staff called 911 to report the smell of propane.
A statement from Yukon’s Department of Education says the original problem has been fixed. But during the investigation crews also discovered the school’s backup generator, which powers emergency lighting for the building, was not working.
So the school will remain closed until officials can install temporary emergency lighting.
Dave Dowie, platoon chief with the Whitehorse Fire Department, said the call came in around 8 a.m. Oct. 26. Firefighters arrived on the scene to find a “strong smell of propane outside and inside the school.”
They shut down the propane to the building and began ventilating the school.
The daycare also had to be closed since it shares the same propane line, Dowie said.
Department of Education spokesperson Kyle Nightingale said students were being kept on buses parked on Falcon Drive outside the school until their parents could pick them up. Many had already come to get their children, he said around 9:15 a.m.
Investigators determined the smell came from a nearly-empty fuel tank, the department said in a news release late Oct. 26. The fuel smell becomes stronger as the tank empties, the department said.
“We have resolved the issue and determined that there was no danger to students, staff, or the public,” the release said.
With files from Chris Windeyer
Contact the Yukon News at editor@yukon-news.com