Spokane County Fire District No. 4 crews were called out to a natural gas leak at Deer Park High School on Friday morning. The leak caused the evacuation and eventual  early release of students and staff at the school.

For the second time in five months, emergency crews were called to a damaged natural gas line at Deer Park High School.

Unlike the first call in July, the recent incident on Friday caused the evacuation of all 700-plus students and staff from the building.

School District Resource Deputy David Morris, who had run an evacuation drill at the school last month, said the building was emptied in less than five minutes after the incident was reported at 11:15 a.m. The students and staff stayed at the football field for about 30 minutes before moving into the Arcadia Elementary School gymnasium.

The students were allowed back to the high school at around 12:35 p.m. after Spokane County Fire District No. 4 firefighters checked the building for any residual gas pockets.

School district officials had already cancelled the remainder of the school day.

Fire District No. 4 Captain Howard Johnson said the break in the 2-inch line was about 25 feet from the school and was “potentially a dangerous situation.”

The situation, he added, was eased by a brisk southwest wind that kept the gas from remaining on-site.

Fire crews from Stations 41 and 46 remained on standby at the scene until Avista crews arrived to clamp off the exposed natural gas line.