An oil spill forced the early dismissal of Killingly High School Wednesday morning.
Teachers inside the Killingly Agricultural Education building noticed a red liquid coming from the floor drains in the mechanic shop around 10:40 a.m., according to the school superintendent.
They immediately realized it was home heating oil and the entire wing of the building was evacuated, the superintendent said.
No students were in the shop at the time.
School staff members quickly determined that a heating oil vendor accidentally pumped 1,400 gallons of heating oil into the school's oil/water waste separating tank.
Firefighters were called in to contain the spill and staff moved animals that are housed in the Agricultural building to a different building.
The decision to dismiss early was made just before 11:15 a.m., the superintendent said.
Local
The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection assessed the situation and outside contractors were brought in to clean up the spill.
The superintendent said a decision on holding classes on Thursday will be made after the DEEP assesses the situation.
