Category Archives: School / University

NOTE – Residence Hall, Dormitory, and Fraternity-Sorority is included under Residential Category

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Statesville, NC – Boiler room fire at high school put out by sprinkler system; No injuries and classes not disrupted

A fire that broke out Monday night in a boiler room at Statesville High School did “minimal damage” and will not disrupt classes, school officials said Tuesday.  The school’s sprinkler system put out the blaze shortly after it began around 6:30 p.m., according to a press release from Iredell-Statesville Schools.  The boiler room is in the basement of the Center Street campus. Some staff members were at the school when the fire started but no injuries were reported.  The Statesville Fire Department worked with school maintenance staff to secure the area, ISS said.

Air quality tests showed that the school was safe and classes were held as scheduled Tuesday.  Principal Hans Lassiter said the area “has pretty much been cleaned up. There are remnants of the burned insulation that smelled pretty bad, but that, too, has been neutralized.”  One basement classroom will temporarily be relocated while repairs are made.

College/University (on campus), Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Starkville, MS – Sprinkler system activates in on-campus dorm room fire; No injuries reported

Mississippi State University officials say no one was hurt by a fire in a dormitory room.  The fire happened Sunday night on the third floor of Oak Hall on the Starkville campus.  The university said in a news release Monday that in addition to damage in the room where the fire occurred, about 30 other rooms were damaged.  The sprinkler system activated.  About 60 students were displaced, and the university is providing temporary housing in a hotel.  The university says an electrical fire is thought to have ignited some bed linens. The state fire marshal is investigating.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Las Vegas, NV – Arson fire in elementary school bathroom put out by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A fire was reported Tuesday morning in a Las Vegas elementary school boys’ bathroom, according to a fire official.  Crews responded to John Park Elementary on Franklin Avenue, near Charleston Boulevard and Maryland Parkway, for a fire in an outside playground bathroom, reported just after 8:50 a.m.  The sprinkler was activated and put out the fire. The school was evacuated, according to Las Vegas Fire & Rescue, but no injuries were reported.  The fire was started in a trash can full of paper towels, and it did not spread to anything nearby.

College/University (on campus)

Tempe, AZ – Computer monitor fire in classroom building at Arizona State University contained by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A small electrical fire stemming from a computer monitor in ASU’s Brickyard complex occurred on Sunday evening, according to a spokeswoman from Tempe Fire Medical Rescue Department.  There were no reported injuries at the time of publication.  “The fire was in an actual computer monitor,” interim Assistant Chief and Fire Marshal Andrea Glass said.

The building sprinkler system was activated and contained the fire’s location until firefighters arrived to the scene, Glass said. The cause for the fire is still undetermined, but the department will conduct an investigation to determine the cause.

“There was extensive work done by the fire crew to protect the computer systems that were located on the second floor from the water damage,” Glass said.  The Brickyard, located on Mill Avenue, houses several Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering labs and classrooms, as well as the ASU Art Museum Ceramics Research Center, the School of Arts, Media and Engineering and multiple research centers.

Students working in the labs said they immediately evacuated the building upon hearing the fire alarm.  Aditya Prasad Mishra, a masters student studying computer science, was working in his lab at the time of the incident.  “I was a bit worried when I smelled the smoke coming outside,” Mishra said.  Once the fire was contained, the fire department started letting people back into their offices to get their belongings before continuing the investigation.

 

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Issaquah, WA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at elementary school; No injuries reported

A small fire at Issaquah’s Challenger Elementary school has forced the evacuation of students to another school.

The fire broke out in a garbage can in a bathroom around 1:30 p.m., according to Sgt. Ryan Abbott with the King County Sheriff’s Office. The flames set off the sprinkler system, causing some water damage, plus quite a bit of smoke filled the school, Abbott said.

A 5-year-old child was checked out for smoke inhalation, but was determined to be fine, Abbott said.

Meanwhile, all students were reported safe and have been moved to the gym at nearby Beaver Lake Middle School. School buses will pick up the children there, and parents can also pick up their kids from Beaver Lake.

There is no word yet what started the fire. Police warn there are road closures near the school at 25200 Klahanie Blvd. SE.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Fresno, CA – Arson fire extinguished with help from sprinkler system; No injuries reported

The Fresno Fire Department is asking for help Tuesday identifying whoever set fire to a Fresno elementary school classroom on Saturday night.

Around 7:45 p.m., a fire burned inside a classroom of Edith B. Storey Elementary School at 5250 E. Church Avenue.

The fire caused major fire and smoke damage.

The sprinkler system helped extinguish the fire, but it caused water damage to the classroom and to the teacher’s supplies and books.

The suspect(s) used an object to smash a small window on the door of the classroom and made entry into the classroom, the Fire Department said. While inside the classroom the suspect(s) set multiple fires that caused the damage.

The fire Saturday was the second arson fire at the location within 24 hours, the Fire Department said.

Anyone with information should call the Fire Department Arson Hotline at 559-621-2776.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Chicago, IL – No injuries after sprinkler system puts out fire in CPS elementary school gymnasium

A flash fire damaged a Chicago public school this weekend on the North Side, just two weeks before the first day of class. The fire broke out in the third-floor gym of Burley Elementary School, 1630 W. Barry Ave., on Saturday in the Lakeview neighborhood. In an email to parents, the principal of Burley said, “We are still unsure of exactly what and how it happened, but what I do know is that no one was on that floor when it happened and no one was injured.”

The sprinkler system put out the fire but also caused collateral water damage throughout building. Families and staff pitched in Monday to paint and do a number of projects. Portable generators, makeshift ventilation and restoration teams are racing against the clock. The principal gave credit to firefighters and CPS for efforts in the past two days, but CPS is caught in a time crunch.

CPS is left unable to answer how long cleanup will take, or if school will begin on time on Sept. 4 at Burley and if there are safety issues surrounding not only the water damage, but how the fire began with no one in that area.  The principal asked parents to “please be patient with me as we let the experts do what they are best at and know that Burley is in great hands.”

In a statement, CPS said that it anticipates the school will be repaired for the first day but is creating a contingency plan. They said they’re waiting on investigators to determine how the fire began.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Eunice, LA – Sprinkler system activates to help control classroom fire at elementary school

Officials with the St. Landry Parish School Board have announced that Eunice Elementary will be closed tomorrow Wednesday, August 15 due to this morning’s fire.  The school board says that safety assessment procedures will be ongoing tomorrow at the school. All 12-month employees will be required to report to work and the principal will contact staff members to let them know when or if they should report to work on Wednesday.  The closure only affects Eunice Elementary. All other schools will report as normal tomorrow.

Officials say the cause of this morning’s fire at Eunice Elementary School is still under investigation. The fire caused the school to be closed on Tuesday to all students and teachers. The school board noted that all 12-month employees should report to work as usual today.  One custodian was in the school at the time of the fire and noticed flames coming from the classroom. That individual was able to exit the building safely.  One classroom and a majority of the supplies inside are a complete loss, according to Principal Mary Dupre.  Flooding caused by the sprinkler system has also damaged the building where the fire took place.

College/University (on campus), School / University

Rolla, MO – Fire in university laboratory suppressed by sprinkler system; No injuries and damage limited

Crews are cleaning up today after a small fire broke out in a second-floor laboratory in McNutt Hall on the Missouri University of Science and Technology campus.  The fire started at about 8:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 13, and automatically triggered the building’s sprinkler system. The sprinkler system suppressed the fire, and Rolla firefighters extinguished the remaining fire. The lab was not occupied at the time, and no one was injured.  Damage was confined to a desk area with no fire damage to the building. Due to the activation of the sprinkler system, there was isolated water damage.  Because of the water damage and cleanup, S&T closed the north section of the second floor of McNutt Hall until cleanup is completed.  The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, but investigators have not found anything suspicious related to this fire.

College/University (on campus), Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

La Crosse, WI – Residence hall fire contained by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

The La Crosse Fire Department responded to a fire call at 6:47 p.m. Thursday evening at UW La Crosse Eagle Hall.  An investigation revealed that an electrical fan malfunctioned directly below a sprinkler head, fire officials said.  The sprinkler contained the fire and crews were able to search the building and ventilate the smoke.  According to the press release, the fire and smoke damage was minimal.  No injuries were reported.