Fire at Preston High School sends 1 to hospital

Fire crews were called to Preston High School in Cambridge on Tuesday, March 1, 2016. (Dan Lauckner / CTV Kitchener)

One person was taken to hospital Tuesday afternoon following a fire at a Cambridge high school.

Fire crews were called to Preston High School shortly after 1 p.m., after being notified of fire alarms going off inside the building.

When they arrived, they found that the school had been evacuated.

According to Cambridge Fire Department platoon chief Brad Churchill, crews entered the building to find that its sprinkler system had extinguished the fire, but heavy smoke persisted in a corridor and stairwell at the back of the building.

One staff member was taken to hospital, to be treated for symptoms of smoke inhalation.

Firefighters spent much of the afternoon at the school, ventilating the building.

After being allowed back in to pick up their belongings, students were sent home for the rest of the afternoon.

Churchill said the evacuation went off “like clockwork” because the school regularly practiced fire drills.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.