Students at Derry Area Middle School were briefly evacuated from their classrooms Thursday after an overheated part of the school’s heating system started smoking, spurring fears the building was on fire.

Firefighters were called shortly before 11 a.m.

“We ventilated (the classroom) and checked the ceiling to make sure no extensions were burned,” said Bradenville Fire Chief Mark Piantine. “There were on-campus maintenance people here. They checked both sides and we checked the whole unit with a thermal imaging camera and we found nothing.”

No flames were visible and there was no damage to the building.

“This was more of a safety precaution,” Derry Area superintendent Greg Ferencak. “We followed our safety plan and we always want to put the safety of our students and staff first.”

Students were allowed back in the school shortly before noon.

There are 467 students and 40 educators at the school.

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