Edgewater Elementary Evacuates Due to 'Burning Odor'

UPDATE (11:55 a.m.)— was evacuated Friday morning as the day was getting started when a “burning odor” was detected in the cafeteria, Anne Arundel County fire spokesman Chief Michael Cox said.

Around 8:15 a.m. Friday, Cox said all the school’s children, faculty and staff remained outside the building while firefighters investigated the cause of the smell.

“During the course of [firefighter] investigations, they believe it was a malfunctioning HVAC unit,” Cox said.

students were only outside for about 15 minutes and all of them reentered the building after they received the “all clear” from firefighters.

One local parent, who asked to be unnamed, claimed that he took his child out of school due to the heavy odor despite the fire department clearing the building for safe re-entry.

“I went to drop off my daughter and the stench of smoke filled the building," he told Patch. "I turned around right away. I wouldn’t leave her in there to breathe that air.”

The school already has some existing air-quality concerns. Since January, environmental specialists, school board members and political figures have visited the school to learn about the , who say the school is physically making their children sick.

However, Anne Arundel County Public Schools spokesman Bob Mosier said the incident Friday morning had nothing to do with previous concerns about the school.

"This morning’s incident had absolutely nothing to do with the environmental concerns expressed by parents about Edgewater," Mosier said in an email to Patch. "This was simply a motor that had gone bad in an air handling unit. These units run for the majority of the day and, as is the case with household appliances such as refrigerators, air conditioning units, etc., parts burn out from time to time."

The motor that caused the issue is being replaced Friday, Mosier said.

Following a report by an indoor-quality specialist, Ed Light, parents were told that maintaining a modern HVAC system with up-to-date equipment is essential to keeping their children safe.

Editor's note: This story was updated to include a statement from Anne Arundel County Public Schools.