UPDATE: Johnson HS Friday classes canceled due to fire

Sierra Martin | Managing Editor

UPDATE: On Friday, March 25, Hays CISD announced that Johnson High School has been cleaned and cleared by the Buda Fire Department to return to a normal schedule on Monday, March 28, 2022.

HAYS COUNTY — Johnson High School experienced a small fire on campus at approximately 10:00 a.m., on Thursday, March 24, 2022. According to Hays CISD, the building was quickly and safely evacuated. Students and teachers will not be able to return to class at Johnson High School on Friday, March 25^th. The district will need an extra day to recover from the small fire that occurred Thursday morning.

Hays CISD says that crews will work Thursday evening and during the day Friday to continue to vent out smoke and odor, clean up water from the sprinkler system, and reset and retest the master fire alarm system.

According to Hays CISD, the investigation into the cause of the fire is still underway; however, it appears to have started in a clothes dryer in the athletics wing laundry room. The fire was contained in the laundry room, but heavy smoke permeated throughout much of the building. Additionally, the fire sprinkler system activated in the athletic wing, leaving a large amount of water throughout the area.

Tim Savoy, chief communication officer for Hays CISD, said that the fire suppression sprinklers worked as intended, but the campus had to use the campus public address system to order the evacuation. The automatic audible warning alarm on the fire suppression system did not engage as it was supposed to do.

“Earlier in the week, the campus experienced several false alarms with the automatic audible warning system. The alarm company made repairs, but there was clearly an issue again with that part of the system on Thursday morning,” said Savoy. “The district, in concert with campus leadership, believes it’s best to keep the building closed Friday so that we can do what we need to do to make sure everything is cleaned up and working properly before students and teachers return to the building.”

School should resume on Monday at Johnson High School and the district has enough banked instructional minutes for the year so that students will not have to make up the missed days, according to Hays CISD.

Retrieving Personal Property:

The campus will open on Friday morning, March 25^th, from 8:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. for anyone who needs to enter the building to retrieve critical personal belongings they left behind during the evacuation. Johnson High School staff will be available to help individuals retrieve their property at that time. The campus asks those who can wait until Monday to retrieve their items to do so. The building will be secured through the weekend. 

During the evacuation and subsequent early release, parents were informed via email, text message, the district’s smartphone app, and a phone call using the district’s automated parent alert system.

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• Fire at Johnson High School leads to evacuation and early release