Thursday morning, students were warned to evacuate the A-hall before school started. A staff member reported smoke in a classroom in the A wing of campus.

The administrative immediately contacted the Austin ISD police who made a quick decision to contact the Austin Fire department.

In the meantime, all students and staff were notified to evacuate and go to their evacuation location until further directions.

“I was about to go into the A hall and all the english teachers were lined up helping us evacuate into the courtyard,” junior Annalisa Gonzales said.

The cause of the smoke was found to be a mechanical unit in the HVAC system which had malfunctioned. Teacher’s began to communicate with their students to ensure their safety.

“At first I was confused, but the teachers started to give information to the students,” Gonzales said. “Some of the teachers were spreading the news about where we should meet up through remind, we were advised to meet at our evacuation spots for our fifth period class.”

After about 20 minutes of evacuation, the school was cleared of a fire or any harmful damage to the school or the safety of the students.

“We were able to return to class shortly after,” Gonzales said. “I’m glad the school prioritizes student safety.”