Terror as Columbine High School is evacuated over fire
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Columbine High School in Denver was evacuated and closed after a fire broke out on Wednesday afternoon. 

The blaze ignited outside the woodshop area of the Colorado school.

The chaos on Wednesday comes 25 years after the school was subject to a devastating shooting.

Twelve students and one teacher were killed, and another 21 people were injured, by two gun-wielding 12th graders in April of 1999. 

It was the country’s deadliest school shooting at a K-12 institution, until Sandy Hook in 2012.  

All students at Columbine were accounted for, authorities said after today’s fire. 

Several children, and two firefighters, were evaluated for potential injuries following the woodshop fire, which started at 11am local time. 

Fire officials determined that the blaze started near the wood dust collector – and it was under control within minutes.

Columbine High School in Denver was evacuated and closed after a fire broke out on Wednesday afternoon

Columbine High School in Denver was evacuated and closed after a fire broke out on Wednesday afternoon

Firefighters were called to the scene at the school on Wednesday

Firefighters were called to the scene at the school on Wednesday

However the school, with its dark history, had its power turned off following the incident. All students were evacuated out of the buildings. 

At the time, there were kids from local elementary schools at Columbine, watching a theater production.

Ken Caryl Middle School, Columbine Hills Elementary, Dutch Creek Elementary, Governor’s Ranch Elementary, Leawood Elementary, and Normandy Elementary had to evacuate their first and fifth graders due to the incident.

Columbine High School will remain closed for the rest of the day. 

The school, in the quiet suburb of Littleton, Colorado, descended into chaos on April 20, 1999.

Following the prom celebration just three days prior, Columbine High School students were looking forward to winding down the school year before summer break.

Columbine High School students waited in a residential area adjacent to the school for their fellow students and friends to escape the gunman in 1999

Columbine High School students waited in a residential area adjacent to the school for their fellow students and friends to escape the gunman in 1999

Students run out of the Columbine High School in the 1999 shooting

Students run out of the Columbine High School in the 1999 shooting

Columbine high school students run to the safety of buses after being rescued by SWAT teams from inside the high school, 25 years ago

Columbine high school students run to the safety of buses after being rescued by SWAT teams from inside the high school, 25 years ago

Patrick Ireland became known as the 'boy in the window' as millions of Americans watched him make a desperate attempt to save his own life by jumping out of a window that had been shattered in gunfire. Ireland was shot twice in the head, causing the right side of his body to be paralyzed. He had to re-learn how to eat, walk and talk, eventually graduating from Columbine as the valedictorian

After being shot twice in the head during the tragic event, Patrick Ireland, later known as the ‘boy in the window,’ made a courageous decision to jump out of a shattered window in an attempt to save himself. His right side was paralyzed, and he had to go through the process of relearning essential skills like eating, walking, and talking. Despite the challenges, he managed to graduate as the valedictorian of his class at Columbine.

But two students, Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, had different plans. That day they put into motion, what would be, at the time – one of the worst massacres in the U.S. that left 12 students and one teacher dead, and 21 wounded.

The rampage lasted 45 minutes, but the physical and emotional scars it left behind on survivors and family members of the victims is permanent. 

While waiting for SWAT teams to arrive, students had to endure the mind-boggling shrill of fire alarms that are intended to flush people out rooms in the event of a fire. Students were forced to sustain the deafening ring, layered over bomb explosions and gunfire for three torturous hours while trapped in classrooms. 

Laura Faber, a freshman at the time previously told DailyMail.com: ‘Sounds can still be very triggering. I don’t even remember hearing anything that day, but now I cringe and, you know, get goose bumps.’ 

Eric Harris (left) and Dylan Klebold (right) on tape during their shooting spree at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado in April 1999. Dupree and McCurley told authorities that they were inspired by the Columbine massacre which killed 15 people, including the gunmen

CCTV footage shows Eric Harris (left) and Dylan Klebold (right) on tape during their shooting spree. Witness accounts said the killers were laughing and having fun. A police report revealed that when student John Savage asked Dyland Klebold what they were doing, he chillingly replied:  ‘Oh, just killing people’

Evidence collected from the massacre included two 12 gauge shotguns, one of which was sawed off. Two semi-automatic pistols and 99 improvised explosive devices. They had paid for these weapons with money they earned working part time at a local Pizza joint and purchased them illegally through Dyland Klebold's prom date who was of legal age to buy guns at the time. She told investigators they thought they were going to use them for target practice

Evidence collected from the massacre included two 12 gauge shotguns, one of which was sawed off. Two semi-automatic pistols and 99 improvised explosive devices. They had paid for these weapons with money they earned working part time at a local Pizza joint and purchased them illegally through Dyland Klebold’s prom date who was of legal age to buy guns at the time. She told investigators they thought they were going to use them for target practice

The school installed a balloon arch in a well-meaning effort to welcome students back to the school after the tragedy. When balloons popped, students instantly dropped to the ground for cover. They had to change the ring of the fire alarm bells and to this day, Chinese food is still banned in the cafeteria because it was the last meal served on that day. All these measures were taken to not trigger panic for survivors.  

Harris and Klebold planned the shooting for a year, according to what become known as ‘the Columbine report,’ an 11,000-page document released after a seven-month investigation. 

The pair choose the date, April 20, 1999, in honor of Adolf Hitler’s 110th birthday. 

A total of 99 improvised explosive devices were uncovered by the police, 30 of which detonated at the school, causing smoke that set the sprinkler system off. 

They planted two diversion bombs in an open field, three miles southwest of the high school in an effort to detail law enforcement’s attention. 

They paid for the weapons from money they earned working part-time at a local pizza joint, and had to enlist people – one of which was Klebold’s prom date – to purchase the guns because they were underage, according to the report. 

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