North Texas elementary school temporarily evacuated Thursday morning due to gas leak

A North Texas elementary school was temporarily evacuated Thursday, Oct. 17, after a gas leak was reported in the area, officials say.

The Watauga Fire Department responded to a gas leak Thursday morning near Watauga Elementary School , city officials said in a news release. The leak was outside the school and was able to be quickly isolated.

Mark Thomas, a spokesperson for Birdville Independent School District, said the leak was found to be on an external air conditioning unit at the school. The leak has since been repaired.

Thomas said the students evacuated the building in an orderly way, similar to what they practice during fire drills. They were outside for less than 30 minutes before the fire department gave the all clear to return inside.

Maintenance personnel are at the site to mitigate the issue, according to the release.

Watauga Elementary is part of the Birdville school district.

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