In tandem with a popular social media trend, a student set their Chromebook on fire on Thursday, May 8th. The smoke filled the room, requiring the authorities to have to throw it out the window, where it burned for nearly fifteen minutes afterward.

“It happened within seconds,” science teacher Krichia Tennyson said. The fire happened in her room. “I turned around to ask my class a question, turned back to the board, and when I looked back, there was smoke.”

The fire was started on the science lab tables, which are burn-resistant, to limit the damage of accidents in labs. Despite this, the fire was still hot enough to completely melt the top of the table.

“He didn’t do it in my class, but there was something stuck in there, and he was pushing the shift key, and that’s what ignited it,” Tennyson said.
Due to the smoke, students had to leave the classroom for the rest of the day, and their class was held in the auditorium. According to the California State Firefighters’ Association, it can take from 2-10 minutes to pass out or die from smoke.

“Ms. Hovey’s room students came over because they thought there was a fight, and we had to evacuate both the rooms [due to their proximity],” Tennyson said.

The district paid between $6,000 and $7,000 for a comprehensive cleaning of the room and put in industrial-grade air scrubbers to make sure the room could be used without any effects on the students’ and staff’s health. Tennyson is coughing excessively due to smoke inhalation.

Words from Principal Gretchen Pontious in an email she sent shortly after the incident: “This can cost you approximately $385. In addition, you will face disciplinary action for vandalism and misuse of school property, which may include suspension or expulsion. School safety takes a community.”