Editor’s note: This is a developing story. Updates to come.

On Sep. 29, at around 11 a.m., Lawrence High School students and staff were evacuated after a fire broke out. The fire originated in the girls locker room, near the main gym. The building was evacuated and the school body moved to the football field, where they stayed for around an hour. Freshman Frankie Holmberg recalls many people thinking it was a false alarm, including the Lawrence Police Department, before the Lawrence Fire Department arrived on the scene and confirmed otherwise.

“We all kind of got scared, but we went out, and it was kind of unexpected,” Holmberg said. “We thought someone pulled it because they were just dumb. Then we heard that it was actually an emergency.”

According to many students, the fire started because of a vape pen exploding; however, nothing is confirmed. After about an hour on the field, students and staff were instructed to go inside and resume class.

When asked, Principal Quentin Rials and Assistant Principal Patrick Graham declined to comment on the incident.