Category Archives: Primary / Secondary School

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

West Fargo, ND (No Media Coverage) – Early morning fire at kindergarten center extinguished by sprinkler system

*** NO MEDIA COVERAGE — READER REPORTED ***

A blog reader reported this sprinkler save from the Lodoen Kindergarten Center. The following message was sent from the school:

“At approximately 6:00 AM this morning, the West Fargo Fire Department responded to a fire alarm at our school. The alarm went off due to a small fire on the stove in the staff lounge. The fire was extinguished by the sprinkler system by the time the Fire Department arrived, but they did check our facility to ensure there were no further issues and that we could have school as normal. None of our classrooms were impacted, and students had a normal day today.”

Primary / Secondary School

Grayson, KY – Bathroom fire at high school contained by sprinkler system; Student return to classes same day

A small fire briefly disrupted classes Friday at East Carter High School, according to Carter County Schools.  It happened in a restroom, and the smoke activated the sprinkler system. (note from blog editor: smoke does not activate this type of fire sprinkler system.  Only the substantial heat from a potentially dangerous fire will activate an automatic fire sprinkler)

All students and staff were evacuated as a precaution. No one was hurt.  They were allowed back in the building around 11:20 a.m. Students and staff were using an adjusted lunch/class schedule for the remainder of the day.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Smiths Station, AL – Daytime fire at high school minimized with help from sprinkler system

Smiths Station Fire & Recuse confirms first responders were called to a fire at Smith’s Station High School on Thursday morning.The fire department says units responded to the school around 11 a.m. CT where there had been a fire in a trash can inside the boy’s locker room.  Fire was brought under control and extinguished by the Lee County Sheriffs Office School Resource officer using a fire extinguisher prior to the fire departments arrival. The fire department also says the school’s fire suppression sprinkler system also activated.  Fire units used equipment to help remove the smoke and the school brought in a private company for water removal.  The department says there was only minor damage and no injuries were reported.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Juneau, AK – Arson fire in high school bathroom extinguished by sprinkler system

The Juneau Police Department is seeking an arsonist after a small fire halted classes at Thunder Mountain High School on Tuesday morning. “The fire marshal and JPD are investigating the fire as arson,” said Assistant Fire Chief Ed Quinto on Monday afternoon.  Fire Marshal Dan Jager confirmed that JPD’s school resource officers are investigating who might have set a toilet paper dispenser on fire in a boys’ bathroom.  It might be only a toilet paper dispenser, but “it’s kind of a significant thing,” Jager said.

The fire was hot enough to trigger the school’s sprinkler system, which enthusiastically extinguished the flames and overwhelmed the bathroom’s floor drains. Building-wide fire alarms went off, triggering the evacuation. “It sounds like the sprinklers did their job very effectively,” said Juneau School District Chief of Staff Kristen Bartlett.  The sprinklers quenched the fire but also flooded a nearby hallway and sent water into a few classrooms. Quinto estimates the water and fire damage at $2,500.

The fire started shortly before 10 a.m., and staff and students returned to the high school by 10:30, Bartlett said. The fire took place in the purple wing — the section of the school extending toward the football stadium — and classes scheduled for that wing were expected to resume in the afternoon.

“The custodians and the Thunder Mountain faculty and staff and the maintenance department were excellent at getting things cleaned up,” Bartlett said.  Parents of students at Thunder Mountain High School and nearby Riverbend Elementary School received two calls from the school district: The first call alerted them to the fire; the second told them the fire had been extinguished.

Bartlett said she cannot recall any similar arsons at Juneau high schools. Quinto said he remembers a fire in the girls’ bathroom in the same wing a few years ago. According to Empire records, a small fire scorched Thunder Mountain’s turf field in 2011. A more serious arson burned the turf at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park in 2012.

 

Quinto added that while Thunder Mountain has cameras covering its entrances and common areas, there are no cameras in the hallway outside the bathroom.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Portland, OR – Sprinklers help control overnight fire at elementary school

A school in southwest Portland caught fire early Thursday morning, just two days after it welcomed students for the school year.

Portland Fire and Rescue crews responded to the blaze at Southwest Sherman Street and Southwest Water Avenue at 2:43 a.m., which firefighters said started as a dumpster fire before spreading to The International School.

The private elementary school is a Spanish, Chinese and Japanese language immersion school with 418 students.

Crews knocked down the fire, but not before one building’s electrical system was damaged. Water sprinklers helped minimize fire activity but also added to the destruction.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Marshfield, MA – Trashcan fire in high school woodshop put out with help from sprinkler system

The building has been deemed safe after a trashcan fire at Marshfield High School activated the sprinkler system. There were no injuries.  The Marshfield fire department responded to an alarm at the school at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning. A custodian pulled the alarm after finding a fire in a trashcan in the wood shop area.  The building’s sprinkler system and the fire department put out the fire. The shop has extensive smoke and water damage, and the rest of the building was also lightly damaged by smoke, Fire Chief William Hocking said in a statement.   The trash barrel was next to a table saw in the shop. The fire has been deemed accidental. The building was occupied at the time, but no injuries were reported.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Highland, UT – Sprinkler system limits fire from spreading at elementary school

A fire sparked on the roof of Ridgeline Elementary School in Highland, Utah, after midnight on June 4, causing an estimated $300,000 in damages, said Kimberly Bird with Alpine School District.  Bird said the fire began on the roof and was caused by illegally-purchased and illegally set-off fireworks. But most of the damage to the school was from the sprinkler system and not the fire.  Police are looking for the suspects who they believe accidentally set the school on fire with illegally-purchased fireworks that were possibly from out-of-state.   It is illegal to set off fireworks any day of the year other than three days before and after New Year, Chinese New Year, July 4 and July 24, said Ted Black, Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal. He said that it’s a crime to purchase fireworks in another state and to light them in Utah.

“Buy locally, light responsibly,” he said. “And just in case, keep a hose close by.”  School let out for the summer a week ago, so nobody was in Ridgeline Elementary when the fire occurred.  Lone Peak Fire Department responded to the call and extinguished the flames 15 minutes after they arrived on the scene, said fire officials.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Delta, BC, Canada – Fire in gymnasium storage area at elementary school contained with help from sprinklers

An investigation is ongoing into what could have sparked an early Saturday morning fire at Delta Manor Education Centre in Ladner. Delta fire responded to the scene just before 3 a.m. Deputy chief Guy McKintuck said the fire was contained to a storage area behind the gymnasium. He said firefighters had the small blaze knocked down pretty quickly, which was also aided by an overhead sprinkler. There is water, smoke and fire damage, but no estimate on the costs for the restoration, he said. The former elementary school serves as a church and also offers adult basic education and ESL classes.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Charleston, SC – Arson fire at charter school suppressed by sprinkler system

Authorities are investigating after someone intentionally started a fire at a Charleston school.   The fire happened just before 10 a.m. at the Charleston Charter School of Math and Science on King Street.  When firefighters arrived they found the school evacuation under way and were told of a fire in a bathroom on the second floor.

“Crews entered to find a single fire sprinkler head that was activated and contained the fire to the bathroom area,” CFD officials said.”Firefighters completed extinguishment and proceeded to control the water flow to the sprinkler system and evacuate smoke from the building.”

A report states members of the Fire Marshal Division responded to investigate the incident and determined the fire was intentionally set in the bathroom. Fire investigators along with the Charleston Police Department and the school administration are reviewing the incident.  “Once the smoke was removed from the building the majority of the school reoccupied, one area of the school remained closed as staff worked to clean smoke and water damage,” CFD officials said. 

No injuries were reported.  The Charleston Fire Department, North Charleston and Saint Andrews fire departments, Charleston County EMS, and the Charleston Police Department responded to the scene. 

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Burley, ID – Arson fire at elementary school extinguished by sprinkler system

A student is suspected of lighting a roll of toilet paper and some paper towels on fire Friday damaging a bathroom and temporarily evacuating White Pine Intermediate School. “The fire was extinguished by the sprinkler system,” Debbie Critchfield, spokeswoman for the district said.  An investigation into the incident is being conducted by the Burley Fire Department and the Cassia County Sheriff’s Office.  The fire was started around 9 a.m. in the fourth-grade wing in the boys’ bathroom.  “They have a suspect,” Critchfield said.  The fire department was called to the school and the firefighters made sure the blaze was extinguished.

The firefighters then reset the sprinkler system, which meant the fire system was down for about an hour at the school. Students were returned to their classrooms, except for the two classes that were affected by the cleanup, Principal Matt Seely said in a text message to parents Friday. Those students were supervised by their teachers in the gym.  There is fire damage in the restroom and water damage in the hallway and in a classroom directly across the hall from the bathroom.  When the water is dried, maintenance will determine what repairs need to be made, Critchfield said.