Lynn Tech track meet evacuated

LYNN – A track meet between Lynn Vocational Technical Institute and Greater Lawrence was cut short Wednesday night after a smoke condition forced firefighters to evacuate LVTI’s field house at about 6:15 p.m.According to Division Fire Chief Bill Curran, a Lynn Department of Public Works truck was undergoing maintenance in the field house’s auto shop area when a battery shorted out causing a smoke condition to form.”The smoke got into the pool area of the building, which is under construction, and there were no windows to vent it out,” Curran said.The truck never actually caught fire and the smoke was light, looking more like a “haze” than heavy smoke, Curran added.Nevertheless, the track meet was cut short after firefighters evacuated the building as a safety precaution.Lynn Tech track coach Gary Sverker says the teams were about 75 percent done with the meet when everyone was told to leave the building.He said the meet would be completed at a later date.