A crack in a hot water tank led to a gas leak at Wheeling Park High School that sent students, staff and faculty home early Friday morning and canceled activities at the school for the rest of the day, said Ohio County Schools Director of Public Relations Karin Butyn.

In a statement released late Friday morning, Butyn said a sensor at the school alerted officials to a potential gas leak at the south end of building around 6:35 a.m. Several buses already had left the garage for morning routes. Ohio County Schools Operations Director David Crumm met Mountaineer Gas at WPHS for further inspection.

Wheeling Park Principal Meredith Dailer sent an all-call out to parents at 7:10 a.m. alerting them of the situation, then sent another at 7:16 a.m. telling them the Mountaineer Gas confirmed that the north end of the building, which houses the gymnasium, cafeteria and Chambers Performing Arts Center, was safe for students.

Students were released and held in those locations and, at 7:50 a.m., Mountaineer Gas and school administrators determined the safest course of action was to dismiss everyone for the day. Staff worked with transportation for bus returns, parents had the option to come get students and student drivers were permitted to return home.

“Days like this are challenging, and we are thankful for the swift reaction of Mountaineer Gas and our Operations Center as well as the flexibility of our staff, students, and families,” Butyn said. “While all evening activities have been canceled at WPHS for (Friday) evening, we anticipate being back to normal operations (Saturday).”

9:20 update

Wheeling Park High School is in the process of dismissing students for the day due to the “gas-related smells and detectors” being inspected by Mountaineer Gas in the south end of the building, according to an OCS spokesperson. Mountaineer Gas is still inspecting the affected area of the school.

Original story

Wheeling Park High School students were waiting to enter the building Friday morning due to “gas-related smells and detectors” isolated at the south end of the school building, according to a message sent out by Ohio County Schools.

“Mountaineer Gas is thoroughly inspecting and we will not move forward with entering the building until they give us the clear go-ahead,” the message read. “We expect the investigation to be both thorough and brief, but we appreciate your patience at this time.”

The school district will make students and parents aware of any new developments as soon as information is obtained, the message stated.