Building services staff members uncovered a pipe leak that affected the first and second floors of the school building on Monday morning. 

The staff proceeded to block off areas in the school that were of concern. Employees closed part of the space between the art hallway and the engineering wing on the second floor, the boys’ locker room and a portion of the area between the gymnasium and the hallway bordering the cafeteria. These areas remained closed until around noon.

The school put in an emergency call to the MCPS Division of Maintenance and Operations as soon as staff members discovered the leak and employees then traced the leak back to a faulty coil, Business Administrator Maria Hawkins said. 

The entire morning, building services staff worked the entire morning to ensure that the school building was “clean and safe” for students, according to Hawkins.

“I was proud of how quickly we were able to respond,” Hawkins said. “It seems like the building is safe, and we shouldn’t anticipate any further issues.”

Junior Mira Chenok had to “take a very long route” to her regular seating area outside for lunch because she had to navigate around closed hallways, but she said the change in her pathway was only a minor hindrance to her day.

“I was just confused,” Chenok said. “It would have been nice for the administration to be able to figure out what was wrong and fix it a little faster because it definitely impacted students’ day.”