The Time Pumpkin Spice Shut Down a School In Maryland

Picture this: you're in class when a strange smell starts to creep through the room. It gets stronger, making eyes water and noses wrinkle. Whispers spread—could it be a gas leak? Students start coughing, and some are struggling to breathe.

This is exactly what happened one Thursday afternoon at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Baltimore.

Remember the Time Pumpkin Spice Shut Down a School?

The mysterious smell started on the third floor. Teachers and students couldn’t figure out what it was, and it seemed to get worse as time went on. Bill Heiser, the school’s president, decided not to take any chances. He ordered an evacuation and called 911.

Minutes later, the Baltimore Fire Department arrived, and they brought a Hazmat team. The specialists, suited up, entered the building to test for hazardous materials. Meanwhile, students stood outside, wondering what was happening. The rumor mill went wild—was it a gas leak, a chemical spill, or something even worse?

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The tests all came back negative, but the smell persisted. Firefighters opened the windows to air out the building. The smell started to fade, but the mystery wasn’t solved yet. Then, finally, the answer emerged: the source of all the chaos was found in a third-floor classroom.

The culprit? A pumpkin spice-scented plug-in air freshener.

Pumpkin Spice Air Freshener Shuts Down A School

A seasonal air freshener caused a full-scale evacuation, sent two students and three adults to the hospital, and had the fire department and Hazmat team searching for dangerous chemicals. The school quickly assured everyone that it was safe and would reopen the next day. Fire Chief Roman Clark even backed the school’s call to evacuate, saying, "It's always best to take precaution."

This story took place in October of 2017, and now, every time fall comes around, the popular flavor of pumpkin spice will haunt this school forever.