By Susan Shinn
sshinn@salisburypost.com
CHINA GROVE ó For the second time in 10 days, firefighters were called to China Grove Middle School.
On Monday morning, a burned-out fluorescent light fixture caused smoke in an eighth-grade classroom.
Students in the eighth-grade wing were evacuated about 9:15 a.m.
The campus’ main building houses the sixth- and seventh-graders, who were not affected by the incident.
The eighth-graders initially went outside, then to the gym for about 15 minutes because of cold early morning temperatures before firefighters gave the all-clear to return to class.
On Feb. 13, firefighters came to the school to address a small fire in one of the mobile units, which had occurred near a heating unit.
“There’s never a dull moment,” Principal James Davis said Monday afternoon.
Many of the students probably didn’t realize anything was amiss.
“We went ahead and did the monthly fire drill, which was due this week anyway,” Davis said. “We do have a plan in place for these situations, and we do have alternate classrooms that we use. It could not have gone better.”
Although there was no damage reported in Monday’s incident, Davis said the mobile unit damaged recently would have to be replaced.
On Monday, firefighters from China Grove and Bostian Heights volunteer fire departments responded.
Davis praised the efforts of firefighters, faculty and staff.
Parents were alerted through the school’s ConnectEd telephone program.