Two students were arrested following a small fire Monday at Lawrence High School, and the district says staff members will work to improve communication to parents in future emergencies.
Superintendent Jeanice Swift and LHS Principal Quentin Rials sent out a message to LHS families Tuesday afternoon with an update on the fire and discussion from an “after action meeting” held that morning.
Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical firefighters, dispatched to the school shortly after 11:15 a.m. Monday, arrived to find moderate smoke from a fire that had already been extinguished by the sprinkler system, according to the statement.
“LDCM Fire Investigation unit conducted an origin and cause investigation and determined the fire originated at a paper towel dispenser that extended to a combustible trash receptacle below,” the statement said. There were no injuries reported in connection with the fire.
In response to this publication’s inquiry about the cause of the fire and estimated damages, McKenzi Ezell, chief of staff for LDCFM, forwarded on the statement from the district. She did not immediately respond to an email seeking to clarify the actual cause of the fire.
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“Lawrence Police Department officers assisted fire investigators leading to the arrest of two LHS students,” Swift and Rials’ statement said. “While we cannot share details about individual students’ involvement, we want our community to know that both law enforcement and the district take these matters very seriously, and in addition to appropriate criminal processes, we will be implementing disciplinary consequences in line with our policies.”
All students were evacuated from the building within approximately four minutes, according to the statement. However, the first alert families received was at 12:04 p.m., more than 45 minutes later, when Rials sent a message on ParentSquare, the district’s communication platform.
The first message made no mention of an evacuation or fire occurring but gave instructions for reentering the building, leading to confusion for many parents.
Additionally, an AI-generated photo of the building engulfed in flames was spreading Monday but was not an accurate depiction of the scene.
At 1:38 p.m. Monday — more than two hours after firefighters were dispatched to the school — Rials sent another message explaining the fire and evacuation.
“In the case that the pace of activity in the building is too brisk for school personnel to be able to send updates, we will ensure communication is provided at the district level,” Swift and Rials’ statement said.
The ParentSquare app is new to district families this year and is intended to be used as one platform for all communications between school personnel and families. In previous years, email messages were typically accompanied by an automated phone call to families as well.
“During these situations, we will ensure that ParentSquare is set to issue alerts (instead of posts), instantly distributing to recipients, regardless of personalized notification settings,” Tuesday’s statement said.
It continued, “Please note: this platform defaults to parent/guardian email transmission for those who are not actively using the ParentSquare mobile app … Parents are not required to have the ParentSquare app or ‘opt in’ to receive school communication.”
Students were outside for “an extended period of time” until LDCFM deemed the building safe to reenter. Students whose classes were in the world languages, physical education, health and arts classrooms were kept in the auditorium upon reentering the building because of lingering air quality issues in those rooms. All students received modified lunch service, and scheduling adjustments were made for the remainder of the day.
The girls’ locker room remained closed as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the statement.
“Lawrence Public Schools remains committed to prioritizing the safety of our students and staff and is using yesterday’s event and response as an opportunity to seek and implement improvements of our school-to-home communications with all our families,” Swift and Rials wrote. “We thank our parents and community for their understanding and continued partnership as we work together to ensure the well-being of all students.”
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