photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Students were evacuated from Lawrence High School after a small fire occurred in the girls' locker room.

Updated at 2:26 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29

A small fire in the girls’ locker room prompted an evacuation at Lawrence High School Monday morning, and the cause is under investigation, according to district officials.

“We are grateful to report that no students, staff were harmed,” a social media post said. “The fire has been extinguished, and the situation is under control.”

The post added that LHS will continue to keep students and families informed with any updates regarding the remainder of the day.

According to the PulsePoint app, the fire department was alerted to the incident at 11:14 a.m. At least three Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical vehicles were dispatched to LHS to the main gym area of the building, where the locker room and athletic complex are located. As of 1:45 p.m., it still remained an active incident with vehicles and personnel on the scene.

“The school has been declared safe, and students are in the process of re-entry with adjustments to their planned Monday schedule,” Jake Potter, the spokesperson for the Lawrence school district, told the Journal-World via email. “Officials are actively investigating the cause/source of today’s disruption.”

McKenzi Ezell, chief of staff for Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical, said a quick investigation found moderate smoke from a small fire that had been extinguished by a single sprinkler head in the locker room. Additional units were requested to assist with ventilating the building.

“The fire is under investigation and there are no damage estimates at this time,” Ezell said. “No injuries were reported from the school or from on scene fire department personnel.”

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Students were evacuated from Lawrence High School after a small fire occurred in the girls’ locker room.