Category Archives: Primary / Secondary School

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Enderby, BC, Canada – Arson fire in school bathroom extinguished by sprinkler system

RCMP are continuing their investigation of a fire at AL Fortune Secondary School in Enderby earlier this month. Cpl. Kevin Kwast said the fire has been determined as arson.  “It looks like it was set with toilet paper and Post-it notes,” said Kwast, adding police want to interview a student, but could provide no more details because the student is a minor.

Enderby Fire Chief Kevin Alstad said the fire started in the girl’s washroom and was put out by the sprinkler system. “There was smoke damage throughout the building,” said Alstad. “The washroom was pretty much a write off.”

While the fire was limited to the washroom, smoke forced the evacuation of students and staff. The school was closed for two days before students could return to class

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

West Palm Beach, FL – Fire at high school is kept from spreading by sprinkler system; Fire started in an appliance

A “small” fire at Forest Hill High School Sunday night triggered the sprinkler system and prompted West Palm Beach Fire Department to dispatch crews to the campus. In the end, some classrooms in one building suffered water damage, according to a call that went to parents this morning. Classes will be shuffled to other rooms on the West Palm Beach campus, but school will continue as scheduled.

According to the call, a water mitigation company began the clean up work at midnight and will be there for the coming days. Sounds like the school’s band, chorus and drama classes will be feeling the pinch. The call reports that band and chorus classes will meet instead in the school auditorium.

“Drama will be located in our lobby.” Imagining that’s a reference to the class.

Update: Principal Mary Stratos says that it appears an appliance was the source of the fire that happened Sunday night. That small fire triggered the school’s sprinkler system and also brought out the fire department – and this morning she is singing their praises.

“What an unbelievable group,” Stratos said. “They went far and beyond.” Authorities aren’t sure how or why the appliance caught fire (no detail yet on which appliance, but think coffee machine, microwave or such), but they are reviewing school video for clues, Stratos said.

Most of the damage is water damage that is in a couple of rooms including the band room, where a wall must be removed. Mitigation crews had removed the water by Monday morning, but the smell of smoke and burned plastic still hung in the air, prompted Stratos to close the building for now and relocate classes.

“We’ve put in new charcoal filters and air cleaners, so I just have to wait for those things to do what they’re supposed to do,” Stratos said.

Meanwhile, the school schedule is moving forward including students taking the computer-based Florida Standards Assessments for Engli

 

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Enderby, BC, Canada – Sprinklers activate in suspicious fire at secondary school

It’s back to school Tuesday for high school students at A.L. Fortune Secondary in Enderby following a fire in the girls’ washroom.

About 250 students and teachers were evacuated around noon on Friday after the fire broke out and caused overhead sprinklers to come on. The fire is considered suspicious.

A restoration company was called in immediately after the fire was doused to clean up the mess. However, reparation work forced the school to remain closed on Monday.

“We are pleased to have our students and staff returning to the important learning that takes place at A.L. Fortune every day,” said Carl Cooper, director of instruction.

Not all the classrooms will be open tomorrow. Cooper said one wing of the school will remain closed for a few more days, including a couple of classrooms, for construction of a new wall after asbestos was discovered in the mud used for drywall.

“Since the washroom and one classroom wall were damaged by fire and water, and the mud was no longer encapsulated, an environmental services company, Apex EHS Services, was brought in to assess the hazardous materials,” said Alice Hucul, spokeswoman for School District 83. “The asbestos was removed on Monday to WorkSafe B.C. standards. Air quality was monitored throughout.”

The district has been unable to supply an estimate of damage caused by the fire.

The RCMP continue to investigate the incident.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Doylestown, PA – Fire at high school quickly brought under control by sprinkler system

The Doylestown Fire Company responded to a small fire Wednesday morning at Central Bucks West. No injuries were reported. The Doylestown Fire Company responded to a small fire Wednesday morning at Central Bucks West, the fire company announced on Facebook. The fire was brought under control quickly by a sprinkler, the fire company said via Facebook. No injuries were reported. The fire caused minor damage.

Primary / Secondary School

Mexico, MO – Overnight fire in utility closet at Catholic school extinguished by sprinkler system

At approximately 1 a.m. Wednesday, Mexico Department of Public Safety was called to St. Brendan School on Clark Street. Officers arriving on the scene found light smoke and evidence of the sprinkler system having activated.

Upon investigation, it was discovered that cardboard boxes in a utility room had been ignited by the water heater. The sprinklers had extinguished the small fire. There was very little damage from fire or smoke and there were no injuries. The fire did not cause any damage to the main building of the school.

St. Brendan Principal Kathy Coulson said students would be bringing their lunches for a few days so the school’s kitchen and gymnasium areas, which are near the storage room in which the fire started, could be cleaned of some smoke. Coulson said the school’s sprinkler system will also be replaced in the near future

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Charlotte, NC – Clothes dryer fire in middle school locker room is contained by sprinkler system

Practice made perfect for the student body of Randolph Middle Thursday morning; the school had two fire alarms: the first one was a drill, the second which occurred about an hour later, was real.

“We received additional calls from CMPD we had a fire in a room attached to the gym, flames in the room, the fire was upgraded. Once firefighters arrived on the scene, had light smoke showing,” said Captain Jackie Gilmore of the Charlotte Fire Department.

Firefighters said that some flammable items like cloth or paper had been left on a running drier and caught fire. “This fire did not get into the school, smoke did not get into any part of the structure.”

A working sprinkler system contained the fire, there was no structure damage. “This was part of a locker room to a back hallway, so all the smoke was contained and the fire department checked the building and said we were clear to go back in,” said Principal Brian Bambauer.

Fire officials said the timing of the drill was perfect and that the students learned first hand how important it is to know what to do in an emergency. Two employees suffered minor smoke inhalation and were treated at the school; there were no other injuries.  Investigators have labeled the incident an accident.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Columbia, MD – Dryer fire in high school locker room contained by sprinkler system

Emergency crews responded to a Howard County school Tuesday morning after a fire broke out in a dryer in the locker room.

According to Howard County Fire and EMS, they were told there was fire in the locker room at Oakland Mills High School around 7:30 a.m.

The fire originated in the dryer and stayed confined to it after the sprinkler system was activated.

Crews put out the fire by 8 a.m.

Unites are currently ventilating the structure, restoring systems and making sure the school is safe for students to return.

No injuries were reported and the fire is under investigation.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Cambridge, ON, Canada – Fire at high school extinguished by sprinkler system

Fire crews were called to Preston High School shortly after 1 p.m., after being notified of fire alarms going off inside the building. When they arrived, they found that the school had been evacuated.

According to Cambridge Fire Department platoon Chief Brad Churchill, crews entered the building to find that its sprinkler system had extinguished the fire, but heavy smoke persisted in a corridor and stairwell at the back of the building.

One staff member was taken to hospital, to be treated for symptoms of smoke inhalation. Firefighters spent much of the afternoon at the school, ventilating the building.  After being allowed back in to pick up their belongings, students were sent home for the rest of the afternoon.

Churchill said the evacuation went off “like clockwork” because the school regularly practiced fire drills. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Merritt, BC, Canada – Suspicious fire at elementary school extinguished by sprinkler system

A small fire that sparked in an office at Merritt Secondary School was quickly extinguished by the sprinkler system before the fire department arrived. The fire started just before 10 a.m. in a room that is adjacent to the main office on the ground floor. It was contained to that particular room, Merritt Fire Rescue Department Fire Chief Dave Tomkinson told the Herald.

Tomkinson said the fire was deemed suspicious and RCMP are investigating. The fire department cannot release any information pertaining to what burned, or the fire’s area of origin.

“There was a fair amount of water damage [to the room],” Tomkinson said. School District 58 superintendent Steve McNiven said the office where the fire sparked is a meeting room in the counselling area of the school.

McNiven said he’s not sure how the fire was discovered, and doesn’t know if anyone was using it at the time of the fire. The fire triggered the alarm and the school was evacuated. Students were allowed back in the building at about 1 p.m.

About 16 firefighters responded to the fire. Tomkinsoin said firefighters assisted the school board staff in salvaging efforts and cleaning up.

McNiven said he was pleased with how students and staff responded to the fire, noting that everyone evacuated the school appropriately and handled themselves well.

No injuries were reported in this incident.

Primary / Secondary School

Dallas, TX – Sprinkler system activates to help control early morning fire at school

Some classes at Parish Episcopal School’s Hillcrest campus are canceled Tuesday and Wednesday due to damage suffered while crews put out a fire at the school Sunday morning. Minor fire damage was done by the flames, which broke out in the attic of Building E — home to the Lower School’s main office, library and several classrooms — around 5:30 a.m., but water from firefighters and the building’s sprinkler system did “extensive” damage.

The fire was “quickly extinguished,” according to a Parish Episcopal School spokesperson. David Monaco, the Head of School at Parish Episcopal, wrote on Twitter that anything lost in the fire was “replaceable.”

Students in Pre-K through second grade will not have class Tuesday or Wednesday following the MLK holiday Monday. The after-school program was also cancelled for those days. Updates on any additional cancellations or relocations would be provided Wednesday. School officials have asked people to avoid going to the campus during the cleanup process, which began Sunday.  The Church of the Transfiguration, which shares the campus, did not suffer any damage to its buildings.