Students Evacuate After Smoke Fills Novi Meadows Elementary

Students at Novi Meadows Elementary were evacuated from the building Friday afternoon after an exhaust fan in the sixth grade kitchen started to smoke from overheating.

"One of the wires got too hot and began to smoke," said Steve Matthews, Novi schools superintendent. "No one was ever in danger."


The Novi fire department was on the scene and had Novi Meadows faculty and students wait until the smoke was cleared before returning to the building, said Lisa Fenchel, Novi Meadows fifth grade principal, in an email to parents. Matthews said they used fans to blow out the smoke.

The fan overheated after the power went out at about 1 p.m. when a DTE electrical transformer outside of Parkview Elementary School sparked and caught fire, according to Matthews. 

"The power was disrupted at three schools," he said.

Novi Meadows Elementary, Novi Woods Elementary and Parkview Elementary, which are all clustered on the southwest corner of 11 Mile and Taft roads, lost power but had functioning emergency lights, Matthews said. In an email to parents, Novi Woods Principal David Ascher said his school was operating on about 85 percent power. 

"Our students are safe as are students at Novi Meadows and Parkview," he said in the email. 

All three principals told parents, via email and phone, to expect a regular dismissal. 

DTE arrived to fix the transformer and restored power to Novi Meadows and Novi Woods by 3 p.m., Matthews said. Parkview's power was not fully restored until after school was out, he said.