ANSONIA – A fire in an HVAC unit prompted an evacuation from Ansonia Middle School Monday morning (Jan. 5).

The fire department received a call around 11:15 a.m. reporting an odor in the middle school auditorium. Students were led outside while firefighters responded to what turned out to be an electrical fire inside an exterior HVAC unit, according to school and fire officials. 

Smoke spread into the auditorium, but Ansonia Fire Chief Jay Fainer said the fire itself did not spread into the building. DiBacco said there were two burned-out heater motors inside the HVAC unit.

There were no injuries, and classes resumed as usual after firefighters cleared the scene.

An initial message sent to parents around 11:38 a.m. mistakenly referred to the incident as a “fire drill.” A follow-up message, signed by Ansonia Middle School Principal Pete Colaccino, was sent to parents correcting the mistake.

Superintendent Joseph DiBacco said the mistaken message was sent because of an internal communication error. He said he was receiving calls from parents and wanted to put out a statement quickly reassuring parents that students were safe.

District director of communications Reese Morales, who sent the initial message, said he was outside with the students and sent the message from his phone. He said he believed the incident was a drill when he issued the alert, and forwarded Colaccino’s correction to parents once he learned there was an actual fire.

The corrected message sent to parents reads as follows:

“I want to offer some clarification regarding today’s fire alarm.

This was not a drill. Shortly after 11:00, the fire alarm sounded.

The building was quickly evacuated. Staff and students remained outside until the Ansonia Fire Department arrived to determine the cause. The Fire Department arrived and worked quickly to determine there was an electrical issue in the auditorium. Once this was determined, staff and students were allowed back in to the cafeteria and gymnasium. Shortly thereafter, we got the all clear to resume business as usual and that is the current state here at AMS.

Please know that when the alarm sounded, it was not a drill.

The goal was to evacuate everyone to safety. Given those circumstances, an immediate parentsquare notification was not possible. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Pete Colaccino

Principal

Ansonia Middle School”