Much of Alberta, including all of Rocky View County, was under an extreme cold warning last week and experienced temperatures dropping as low as minus 48 with the windchill.

With lingering temperatures well below the freezing mark, many parents were questioning why schools remained open and voiced their concerns about students being able to evacuate safely in an emergency situation.

Alanna Berger is the Assistant Principal at Elbow Valley Elementary school in Springbank, and she says that the staff and students did, in fact, have to evacuate last Thursday morning due to a sensor malfunction.

Berger says the heat sensors weren't registering properly, causing the alarm to trigger. She says "We have heat sensors in several locations throughout the school building, and one of those sensors located outside the storage room had frost on it. The extreme cold and frost were registering as heat because of the sensor not making a proper connection."

Berger says that the alarm sounded at 9:25 am and they made an announcement right away informing everyone to grab a coat and hat and the students bundled up as they were exiting the building. 

Before exiting the building, a call was made to the neighbouring middle school to inform them of the situation. Berger says "We walked outside and did a quick attendance and as soon as the teachers had their whole crew they held up a green sign and we walked across to the middle school right away."

The staff of the middle school opened up the gym doors and the elementary school students were able to get into a warm space very quickly. Berger says that the entire school was accounted for at 9:38 am; just 13 minutes after the initial alarm sounded.

Berger says that all Rocky View Schools do have emergency evacuation plans in place for these types of situations. She says that in the event that there isn't another building within walking distance, Southland busses are on standby. She says "For the most part all locations are within walking distance. If not, the school would register onto Southland. We have a standing agreement with Southland Transportation and in an emergency situation they would come."

During inclement weather, the final decision to send a child to school remains at the discretion of the parents, even when buses and schools are still operational.

Parents are reminded to ensure that their children are always dressed appropriately for extreme weather circumstances.