Smoke from the auto shop set off the smoke alarms at Lawrence High shortly before the end of fifth hour. Oil spilled onto a car’s manifold, which carries hot exhaust gases from the engine, and created smoke.

“It was just smoke. Don’t worry about it,” said senior Caleb Cook, who was working in the auto shop. “There was just smoke and a lot of it.”

Students followed a typical fire drill routine but feared the worst when assistant principal Bill DeWitt waved students forward, telling them to keep walking to the football field. Almost a year ago, students were sent to the football field for the better part of an hour in similar temperatures, the result of a faulty fire alarm.

“I kind of assumed it was the same thing as last year where it was just a false alarm,” junior Chase Odgers said. “Nothing as severe as an actual school burning down.”

Students heard fast-approaching fire sirens as they reached the gate to the football stadium.

“There were fire trucks,” Odgers said. “At that point I figured that it wasn’t a drill.”

The biggest concern of most students was the temperature. The weather was already bitterly cold, but the wind chill brought it down to 24 degrees.

“It wasn’t the most pleasant to stand outside, and it was pretty chilly,” freshman Mariah Kaufman said. “Especially for people who didn’t have a jacket.”

As soon as the fire department located the source of the possible danger, they notified administrators who then started moving students into the West Gym.

“Once we got the all-clear from the fire department, we brought students back in,” assistant principal Mark Preut said. “We wanted to get students inside of a building.”

No damage occurred as a result of the oil spill, but rooms near the auto shop reeked of smoke for a short time. And students and faculty were reminded that it isn’t always a drill when alarms go off.

“If the fire alarm happens during lunch, bring your coat because it’s not a drill,” math teacher Gregory Farley advised.