Category Archives: School / University

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

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Plainfield, IL – Arson fire at middle school extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A fire at a Plainfield Middle School ended with an arson investigation. It was at 8:11am that the Plainfield Fire Protection District and the Plainfield Police Department were called to Ira Jones Middle School in regards to a fire alarm. Upon arriving personnel was able to located and isolate the fire to a first-floor bathroom and was extinguished by the sprinkler system. During the investigation into the cause of the fire, investigators identified a fourteen-year-old male student as the individual who started the fire. During an interview, he admitted, to using a lighter to ignite a paper towel within the dispenser. He believed he extinguished the fire, left the restroom and returned to his class. A short time later, the fire alarm was activated.

No injures were reported as a result of the fire. Students and staff were briefly relocated to C.W. Avery Family YMCA and at the discretion of school personnel, the students were reunited with their parents. There was a significant amount of water and smoke damager to the school according the Police , which has resulted in its closing. It will remain closed until further notice. Additionally, students will be in remote learning until further notice.

Criminal charges are pending as the investigation is still active.

Other - School / University, School / University

Frisco, TX – Fire at Frisco ISD building kept in check by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

The Frisco Fire Department is investigating after alarms alerted dispatchers to a fire at a Frisco ISD building Friday morning.  

After dispatchers were alerted at 9:59 a.m., the first unit of Frisco firefighters arrived at 10:04 a.m. at a FISD building on the 7200 block of Hickory Street. The initial response involved one engine, one ladder truck and one battalion chief, a press release stated, due to the response involving an alarm investigation. During the response, occupants found smoke in the building, the press release stated.  

“Additional units were requested as a structure fire was declared,” the department stated. “The fire was found in a closet, was kept small and was not allowed to grow as rapidly due to a sprinkler fire that activated when the fire began. A total of 12 units and 34 personnel responded.”

The department reported no civilian or firefighter injuries.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Sevierville, TN – Sprinkler system activated for fire at primary school; No injuries reported

Sevierville Primary School had to be evacuated briefly Friday afternoon after a small fire caused smoke to fill the area around the school’s kitchen.

According to Sevier County Schools, an appliance issue caused the smoke around 12:15 p.m. The city of Sevierville said fire crews arrived to find a basket of clothes sitting on top of a dryer on fire.

The principal evacuated the school. The Sevierville Fire Department and maintenance crews were called in to respond.

The city said the automatic sprinkler system activated and was able to extinguish most of the fire, and crews put out the rest. The area around the dryer suffered minor damage. 

No one was hurt in the incident. SCS said students returned to class about 20 to 30 minutes later.

The school system said it is sending a letter home to parents with more details about the incident.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Waco, TX – Bathroom fire at high school knocked down by fire sprinkler

Waco High School was evacuated for a short time after a fire was reported in one of the building’s restrooms.

Waco Fire Department units were sent to the scene shortly after the noon hour and found that the fire had not extended beyond the one room.

Waco ISD spokesman Joshua Wucher said the automatic sprinkler system knocked down the fire.

There was some minor smoke damage to the restroom, but Wucher said that none of the students or staff were in any real danger.

Students were allowed back into the building a short time later with classes resuming.

An investigation was underway into the source of the fire.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Doylestown, PA – Fire sprinklers extinguish early morning fire at high school; No injuries reported

A defective air purifier was likely responsible for an early-morning fire in a first-floor classroom at Central Bucks High School West Sunday, police said.

The school will be closed for the week as damage is assessed, district officials said. All lessons will be conducted virtually.

No injuries were reported from the fire that happened at around 3:30 a.m. at the school located at 375 W. Court St. in Doylestown Borough. Central Bucks Regional Police Chief Karl Knott said the fire resulted from a defective air purifier. He said there was minor damage to one classroom.

“Because of the hour, there were no students or faculty in the building, hence no injuries,” said Knott. 

Central Bucks School District officials expressed gratitude for first responders.

“We are deeply grateful that no one was hurt and for the quick response of the Doylestown Fire Company,” Superintendent of Schools John J. Kopicki said in an email to Central Bucks families. “We ask that our students and families allow officials time to do their work and avoid the campus as we work alongside them to secure and inspect the damage at CB West.”

Kopicki notified families across the district in a morning email. He said the fire was extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system. He said the Doylestown Fire Company was dispatched and arrived on campus. They are now “assessing and monitoring the scene of the incident.” 

School / University

Oxnard, CA – Fire sprinklers keep fire from spreading in school district storage building

Early Saturday morning, Oxnard City Fire extinguished a fire that flared up inside a storage building belonging to the Oxnard School District.

Firefighters responded to a two-story building on the 1000 block of South A Street around 4:25 a.m. The building was found to be used for storage and the archiving of school property.

Upon arriving, firefighters forced the first-floor door open and found the area to be filled with smoke. They used heat imaging cameras to locate the sources of the fire and extinguish them. Fortunately, City Fire reported, the building’s sprinkler system had activated which helped keep the fire from spreading through the rest of the building.

Once the fire was out around 4:51 a.m., crews determined that only supplies had burned rather than the building itself.

Investigators discovered that a window had been broken out on the first floor and one person was seen leaving the area around the time of the fire.

While it is unclear if this is an arsonist situation, police are looking for the subject for questioning on how the fire may have started.

Crews will continue working on water and smoke damage inside the building until it is fully functional.Ventura County

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Mt. Juliet, TN – Classroom fire at elementary school put out by fire sprinklers;no injuries reported

Emergency crews are on scene of a fire that broke out at Mt. Juliet Elementary school Monday.

Police said the fire is isolated to one classroom. It’s since been extinguished by the sprinkler system and firefighters.

There have been no reported injuries and Monday is a remote day for students.

Crews remain on the scene investigating.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Kearney, NE – Sprinkler system contains possible arson fire in elementary school bathroom

Police and firefighters are investigating a possible arson that occurred Tuesday at Bryant Elementary School in Kearney.

Around 6 p.m. emergency crews were called to an alarm at the school at 1611 Ave. C. When they arrived there was smoke inside the building.

The investigation revealed a paper towel dispenser had been set on fire in a boys’ bathroom inside the school, said a Kearney Police Department news release.

A sprinkler head in the bathroom contained the fire, said fire Capt. John Sydow. Firefighters extinguished the remaining fire.

Sydow estimated the bathroom sustained an estimated $5,000 damage. The fire is under investigation by the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

The fire didn’t interrupt any classes Wednesday at Bryant.

Other - School / University, School / University

Charleston, SC – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire in barracks at The Citadel; No injuries reported

Charleston County dispatch shows a reported fire at the Citadel.

The call came in at around 6:29 pm on Sunday, August 23.

Citadel officials say the fire was caused by an air conditioning unit that is above one of the barracks on campus.

The barracks were evacuated.

The fire caused the school’s sprinkler system to activate, which took care of the fire.

Officials say no one was injured during the fire.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Crawfordsville, IN – Sprinkler System put out fire at old high school entrance

A small fire at the southeast entrance to the former Crawfordsville High School on Jefferson Street was quickly extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system Thursday morning.

Damage to the former school, now a residential apartment building called Laurel Flats, was limited to the door itself and did not spread, Fire Chief Scott Busenbark said.

“It just damaged the door that was leaning on it,” Busenbark said. “We had Station 1 and Station 2 on the scene … an alarm like that always gets a full response.”

The fire threatened the gymnasium section of the 110-year-old building, which was added as an expansion to the original building in 1941.

No injuries were reported and the entryway suffered only minor damage due to the sprinkler system.

“It put it out on its own,” Busenbark said.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

Officers from the Crawfordsville Police Department assisted at the scene.