Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Sprinkler system contains middle school computer lab fire (Norwich, CT)

The fire happened about 2:30 a.m. on a Monday morning in a second-floor science laboratory when a computer ignited and triggered the school’s sprinkler system. A melted computer sat on a workbench in the rear of the room next to several others that appeared undamaged. Officials couldn’t say how the computer caught fire. “When the crews went down the hallway to investigate, they were met by heavy smoke and water from the sprinklers,” Taftville Fire Chief Timothy Jencks said. “But they (the sprinklers) did their job and held the flames in check.”