Gas odor forces Cornwall Central High evacuation, students dismissed for day

A gas odor forced an evacuation at Cornwall Central High School on Thursday, sending students and staff outside and ending the school day early as firefighters checked the building on 10 Dragon Drive in New Windsor.

An email sent to parents said everyone was safe and waiting outside for the next instructions once the odor was noticed. Students and staff were told they could not return inside until the building was fully aired out, a standard precaution when a gas issue raises concerns about an unsafe atmosphere inside the school.

The district said students were dismissed for the day after the evacuation. Once firefighters determined the building was safe for re-entry, families would receive another message through ParentSquare so students could come back later Thursday to collect their belongings. Students were later allowed inside to retrieve those items.

Kathryn Wilhelm is principal of the high school, which serves students from Cornwall, New Windsor, Woodbury and Cornwall-on-Hudson. The school has about 1,010 students, and the Cornwall Central School District enrolls about 2,985 students, meaning a single building-safety incident can ripple quickly across dozens of bus routes, pickup plans and after-school schedules.

The district’s move to ParentSquare helped make the response faster. Cornwall Central Central School District uses the platform for school-to-home communication after replacing SchoolMessenger, giving administrators a direct way to tell families where students were, why they were outside and what would happen next.

Even though no injuries were reported, the response carried the weight of a serious safety check. Utility safety guidance treats any gas leak as an emergency and says people who smell gas should leave the area immediately and call 911 or the utility. That is why even a suspected odor can trigger an immediate evacuation, a fire inspection and a full-day dismissal.

For Orange County families, the episode was less a routine school interruption than a test of how quickly a large district can protect hundreds of students and keep parents informed while emergency crews investigate a potential hazard. The fast evacuation, the building check and the follow-up message to retrieve belongings showed the district trying to limit disruption while putting safety first.