By Rohit Dilip | Staff Writer

The alleged fire that occurred shortly after school today was attributed to a mistaken sensor.

At approximately 3:20 p.m., the fire alarm went off, prompting an evacuation to the school blacktop. Teachers and administration helped to herd students out of the building. Upon further investigation, however, no fire was discovered.

Irvington principal Ms. Smoot explained that the fire alarm was triggered due to dust from cleaning.

“There was no fire,” she said. “They were cleaning out the band room so there was dust in the air. Because the fire alarm sensors are optical, the dust set off the fire alarm.”

The evacuation and subsequent school reentry proceeded smoothly, and the school reopened within 10 minutes.