Bathroom fire prompts evacuation, early dismissal at Grand Haven High School
All students and staff were safely evacuated from the facility.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Students are now being released for the remainder of the school day. Students who ride district transportation are boarding buses or have already boarded, and students with their own transportation are being permitted to leave. Families who wish to pick up their students may now do so using normal school pickup procedures.
GRAND HAVEN — Grand Haven High School was evacuated Thursday morning, Oct. 8, following a bathroom fire that sent smoke billowing through the building, school officials announced.
All students and staff were safely evacuated from the facility. Emergency responders, including the Grand Haven Fire Department and the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office, quickly arrived on the scene to manage the situation and ensure the building was secure.
Due to the smoke and ongoing response, district administrators canceled the remainder of the school day. Grand Haven Area Public Schools is working alongside emergency personnel to establish a structured plan for getting students home safely.
School officials are asking parents and guardians to hold off on driving to the campus to pick up their children until dismissal and transportation procedures are formally announced.
Restricting initial traffic on school grounds will help first responders and district staff coordinate a safe, orderly dismissal.
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"Due to the incident, students will be sent home for the remainder of the school day. We are currently working with school officials and emergency personnel to develop a plan to ensure students can get home safely," the district said in a statement to parents.
"We ask families to please refrain from coming to the school to pick up their students until the dismissal plan has been communicated. This will help us maintain a safe and orderly flow of traffic as we coordinate student dismissal and transportation."
Students will be given an opportunity to retrieve their belongings from the building within the next hour, as conditions allow, district officials said.
— This is a breaking news story, and it will be updated as information becomes available.
