Saugus school to be open today

SAUGUS – School officials re-opened Veterans Memorial Elementary School today a day after firefighters ordered the evacuation of more than 600 students due to a strong odor of glue throughout the school.A press released issued by the school district Wednesday night said testing by the state Department of Environmental Protection showed the air quality was safe.?Follow-up testing by the MassDEP of the air within the school building identified the odor-causing agent to be present at concentrations well below levels of concern,” said the release. “As a result of these findings there will be school at the Veterans Memorial School (Thursday).”The students were bused to Saugus High School Wednesday, where they spent the rest of the school day.Emergency Management Director Paul Penachio said work crews were re-lining sewer pipes on Hurd Avenue when the smell of the glue they were using wafted into the school.He said some of the teachers were feeling “light-headed” and “dizzy” but said the glue used was non-toxic and non-hazardous and said no injuries were reported.He commended the staff of the Veterans Elementary School Wednesday afternoon for handling the evacuation.?The staff at the Veterans School did an outstanding job,” said Penachio. “They kept (the kids) calm, cool and collected. The kids did an outstanding job too. To stay as calm as they did for as long as they did, they deserve a pat on the back.”Students were evacuated to the high school where parents were instructed through the district?s Connect-Ed communication system to pick up them up.Veterans School Vice-Principal Marie Bridges said the smell started getting really bad at around 9:30 a.m. and they contacted the fire department shortly after. She said the evacuation went smoothly.?It took us 25 minutes to get almost 700 kids out,” said Bridges. “It was very successful. It was more precautionary so they were all safe. (Teachers) are trained for crises.”Fifth-grader Lindsay Jepson said she was worried she would pass out from the smell at the elementary school.?My teacher was reading a story to us and he started smelling this smell,” said Jepson, 10. “It smelled like paint. I was scared I was going to faint.”Despite the school?s reopening, Jepson worried about going back to school today because she didn?t want to be evacuated again.?I don?t want it to happen again,” said Jepson. “Then we?d have to start this whole commotion all over again.”Kellie Nickole picked up her twin fourth-grade daughters Wednesday at Saugus High and said she smelled the odor when she dropped them off that morning.?Right in front of the school, they?re doing something to the sewer lines and the smell, you smell it everywhere,” said Nickole. “I said, ?That odor is horrible.? As soon as I got the message I said, ?That?s it.? “Nickole described it as a “glue” odor and said she could smell it on Hurd Avenue, where the school is located, and School Street.Nickole?s daughter, Alexis, said the odor smelled like “nail polish remover.”?We didn?t know what was going on,” said Alexis. “They had us open all of the windows and doors in the whole entire school to get the smell out. Just to be safe they had us come here. It was really bad.”Students were evacuated to the school gym first and then they were taken to the high school, where they watched movies like “Cars” and ate spaghetti for lunch in the high school cafeteria.Leslie Murphy said she was “petrified” at first because she didn?t know the school had been evacuated when she went to pick up her first- and third-grader.?I wasn?t home to get the phone call so when I went down to the school, the school was empty and fire trucks were there and I said, ?Oh my God, what happened??” said Murphy. “But the firefighters said, ?Don?t worry, the fumes aren?t toxic.?”Murphy too said she could smell the odor when she dropped her kids off earlier.?This morning when I dropped them off I could smell it,” said Murphy. “When I went back there this afternoon I didn?t smell