MATTAWA — Students and faculty of Morris Schott Elementary School were evacuated Thursday, Jan. 25 following an electrical malfunction in the school’s kitchen.

At around 12:20 p.m., staff cleaning up after lunch saw smoke emerging from the dishwasher.

“Kitchen staff noticed it right away,” said maintenance supervisor, Matt Hyndman.

The fire alarm was then activated, and students were evacuated to Wahluke High School while maintenance and fire crews worked to address the situation.

Fortunately there was no fire; just quite a bit of smoke Hyndman explained. He said the cause of the smoke was due to an electrical malfunction in the dishwasher’s booster heater.

“It had some age to it,” Hyndman said.

According to Hyndman, the booster heater smoked for a while before the fuse finally went out. The fire district then ventilated the building while Hyndman and his crew tested the air quality before allowing students back into the school.

About an hour and half later, students were able to return to the building to finish out the rest of the school day.

A brand new booster heater has been purchased Hyndman said, and will both arrive and be installed on Friday. Hyndman explained that given the age of the old booster heater, purchasing a new one was both a more cost efficient option as well as reduces the risk of further problems.