Classroom break in and vandalism causes teacher relocation

By Emily Perry,
BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

Police and firefighters encountered an unusual situation when they were summoned to the Davis High campus on Dec. 27 to respond to a fire alarm.

Responders entered Carin Pilon’s classroom (P-20) to find a layer of a powdered yellow substance from a fire extinguisher coating every surface of the room, “like snow had fallen everywhere” Pilon said.  

The vandal broke the glass case holding the fire extinguisher and sprayed the room with a grainy substance, which proceeded to set off the fire alarms because of the dust particles in the air.

There were no items stolen from the vandalized classroom.  However, the classroom adjacent to Pilon’s class, P-21, was broken into at the same time, and a valuable projector was stolen.

The identity of the vandal and the motive for the fire extinguisher prank are both unknown.

In an email sent after the incident, Pilon informed students and parents that “while the residue is non-toxic, our major concern is for student comfort and safety, especially for those students who may have asthma or be sensitive to dust.”

In the meantime, Pilon’s English classes have been relocated to the library until the remainder of dust is cleared.

The mess has been difficult to clean, but Pilon and custodian Fred Marania have been working hard to get rid of the dust in the room and on important papers including finals and essays.  

Senior Emily Chiang from Pilon’s fifth period English class says that it is unfortunate “that a lot of the DHS staff and Ms. Pilon have to spend their own time cleaning up a mess made for no reason.”

The Davis police have been notified of the incident and students are encouraged to come forward with any information.