Kennedy Secondary School evacuated after fire alarm in Fergus Falls

Students and staff at Kennedy Secondary School were rushed out of the building in Fergus Falls after a fire alarm sounded at about 1:35 p.m. Monday, sending the district’s only public secondary school into an evacuation while firefighters checked for any danger.

Fergus Falls Public Schools Superintendent Jeff Drake said there was no visible sign of a fire when emergency crews arrived at 601 Randolph Ave. The Fergus Falls Fire Department and local law enforcement responded immediately and began investigating the alarm, while school officials kept the building closed until it could be inspected and cleared for students and staff to return.

No injuries were reported. District officials said the school would remain evacuated until emergency personnel completed a thorough inspection and determined it was safe to re-enter, and they said more information would be released as it became available.

Kennedy Secondary serves grades 9 through 12 and enrolled 714 students in the 2024-25 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The school sits in Otter Tail County in a Town, Remote setting, and Fergus Falls Public Schools says the district serves about 2,500 students from pre-K through 12th grade.

The evacuation underscored how quickly a fire alarm can disrupt the school day at a building that anchors the district’s secondary grades. Kennedy was renamed in 2010 when it moved to the former middle school campus, and the site has already seen safety-related disruption before: a January 2025 fire at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church in Fergus Falls also forced an evacuation, with students later reunited with their parents.

By Monday afternoon, the immediate concern remained simple and urgent: whether the alarm pointed to a real hazard inside one of Fergus Falls’ most important school buildings, and when the school could safely reopen its doors.