Broken sprinkler at Carson High dampens Thanksgiving preparation

As part of their training in culinary arts, teacher Penny Reynolds has her students prepare a traditional Thanksgiving meal each year.

On Wednesday morning students experienced what nearly every Thanksgiving cook has learned: Disasters can happen at a moment's notice.

With the turkey warming in the oven, students were preparing to cross the hallway from the classroom to fix the trimmings in the kitchen when they heard a "woosh" sound.

"I ran in (the kitchen), and it was like a hose that was on full blast," said Sean Weekley, 16. "It went everywhere."

"Then all we heard was the fire alarm, and water started to pour down," recalled Luke Remer, 16.

When Reynolds went to inspect the sprinkler, it gushed open, dousing her in water and flame retardant.

"Our whole Thanksgiving dinner is ruined," she said, her hair and T-shirt soaked. "My ovens are filled with water."

Fire Capt. Jim Quilici said he and his crew were cleaning up about 300 gallons of water after the accident.

"The sprinkler head just went off," he said. "It was a faulty sprinkler."

Reynolds said she will spend much of the holiday supervising cleaning crews so the class can return to normal after the break.

Students spent the rest of the class period Wednesday on the computers preparing for next month's culinary competition.

Reynolds called in a sub so she could shower and change clothes.