Students at Culbreth Middle School are back in the classroom after the school was evacuated on Tuesday morning.

Chapel Hill Carrboro Assistant Superintendent Todd LoFrese spoke to the media following the evacuation of Culbreth Middle on Tuesday.

“At approximately 8:05 [Tuesday] morning, a piece of refrigeration equipment malfunctioned in our cafeteria,” he says, “and created a loud noise and a lot of smoke.”

The incident was sparked from a unit that contains juices and other drinks for students during the breakfast timeframe, according to Culbreth Principal Bev Rudolph.

“School opens at 7:50,” she says, “and from 7:50 to 8:13 students may go into the cafeteria for breakfast.”

School spokesperson Jeff Nash gave a little more detail on the cause of the anxious moments.

“The fire was inside the compressor, and it burned the little seal where the wires come in,” he says. “And so that caused the oil and the smoke to start going out.”

LoFrese added that school staff worked quickly to evacuate the cafeteria and set off the alarm, which led to the evacuation of the entire school.

“Both the fire department and police department responded immediately,” he says, “and did a great job assessing our situation, helping provide support in the cafeteria and beginning the ventilation process to clean out the smoke from the facility.

“EMS also responded, as we had some students and one staff member that were complaining about feeling dizzy or light-headed.”

LoFrese says those who were taken to the hospital were transported by ambulance and bus out of an abundance of caution. He says it was less than 10 students and one member cafeteria staff. There was no update available on any of their conditions, as of Tuesday afternoon.

The faulty piece of equipment had been removed by late Tuesday morning.

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