A spark that’s strong enough to evacuate a classroom, but feeble enough to go unnoticed by the smoke detector can be a recipe for disaster that puts everyone at risk of danger.

A sharp metallic-like smell disrupted a freshman global history class on May 19. In room 453, while class was in session during third period, electronics plugged into the old wall outlets consumed a substantial amount of energy, leading to an overload of electricity.

History teacher, Andrea Bentoglio, who casually rested his foot on the wall, made contact with the electrical plug. A “zapping” sound occurred  and light smoke seeped out.

History teacher Marco Pompa, who investigated the issue, yanked the plug from the outlet, setting off a flash of bright flames erupting from the electrical port.

Mr. Pompa was shaken but fortunately not electrocuted. The wall outlet began to fry, blackening and causing dark smoke to spill out of the outlet.

Teachers quickly had students evacuate the classroom and line up against the hallway. The students didn’t have to stand around too long because they soon transitioned to fourth period lunch.

No one experienced any injuries, and the future safety of the classroom was ensured by the custodians who removed the faulty outlets and installed new ones.

The laptop cart that was connected to the wall outlet, however, didn’t survive: With its surge protector fried, the cart can no longer get power to charge laptops, rendering it useless.

Although the smoke alarm was positioned directly above the wall outlet, it was never triggered. The smoke alarm not triggering surprised Mr. Bentoglio, since “it was right above” he said.

“Not enough smoke” is what custodians tell us; but all in all, nobody should have to wait until they’re sitting in a smoke cloud to get the “green light” to evacuate the building.