Students at West Richland middle school evacuated for smoke investigation

Smoke in a storage room at Leona Libby Middle School in West Richland prompted school officials to evacuate the building and call for help.

Cpt. Ed Dunbar with the West Richland Police Department says dispatchers received a notification of an alarm being pulled in the 8th grade hall at the middle school on Belmont Blvd. shortly before noon.

By the time fire crews arrived, all 680 students, along with the school's teachers and staff, had been evacuated from the building and were staged at the school's athletic field.

Dunbar says there was no smoke outside of the building, and some smoky haze inside the building when they arrived, but no flames.

Once crews determined there was no immediate danger, students were allowed back into the building, relocating to the school's gym to get them our of the cool temperatures and windy conditions.

By 1:45 p.m., students were allowed back into their classrooms.

No one was hurt in the incident.