Category Archives: Primary / Secondary School

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Blue Springs, MO – Arson fire at high school is extinguished by sprinkler system

The Blue Springs School District has contacted federal authorities after receiving four threats in the last 10 days. The district said the latest threat came Monday in an email to a teacher. It arrived hours after a break-in and arson in the Blue Springs High School activities office.

“A Christmas tree was set on fire,” said Tom Phillips, the head of the police force for the Blue Springs School District. “The sprinkler system kicked on. It did what it was supposed to do, put the fire out.”

He said the fire caused thousands of dollars in water damage. He also said fire extinguishers were sprayed in some parts of the building and some windows were broken. He said these incidents have not been connected to the threat that came in Monday.

(It was) very generic. Doesn’t give any specifics,” said Phillips. “Doesn’t say where the threat is, where it’s at or anything like that.”

In the wake of Sandy Hook and terrorism worries, schools have to take threats seriously and work to strike a balance between prudence and paranoia.

Phillips, a former Jackson County sheriff, said it’s a collective decision. “I get with our administration. We get with our central office administrators,” he said. “We get with other law enforcement in the area. Are they receiving threats?”

Blue Springs was one of the first school districts in Missouri to have its own police force.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Portland, OR – Intentionally-set fires at high school kept in check by sprinklers

Students at Portland’s James Madison High School got quite a scare Monday morning.

“Today we had a fire alarm this morning at 10 a.m.,” said Christine Miles, Spokesperson for Portland Public Schools.

She explained that a fire had been intentionally ignited in the boys restroom.  Shortly after, another fire was set in a school storage closet that was used for donated food.

“Inside, there is a sprinkler fire system that was activated by the heat which then kept that fire in check and kept it from extending further into the building,” said Lt. Rich Tyler with Portland Fire & Rescue.

But the two fires at Madison High on Monday weren’t the first to be set at the school recently.

“So far we have four fires that were set here. The 16th, the 17th and then two today,” said Tyler.

Three of the fires started in boys restrooms and investigators said all of them were believed to be arson.

“We do know that it is a student and we are interviewing the students to determine who the individual or individuals are,” Tyler said.

At this point, school is still on for Tuesday but Portland Public School officials want everyone to be on watch.

“We’re telling our community: ‘Please step forward if you know something so we can make an arrest or put an end to this as soon as possible,’” said Miles.

The principal also posted a letter to parents on the front page of the Madison High School website.

No students have been hurt in any of the fires.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Quincy, IL – Sprinklers put out mattress fire at Chaddock School; No injuries

Emergency crews responded to a mattress fire Wednesday morning at Chaddock School, according to Asst. Fire Chief Bernie Vahlkamp.

The Quincy Fire Department says crews responded to the fire at 205 S. 24th St., in one of the cottages. Vahlkamp said the fire was out by the time firefighters arrived and that Quincy police are handling the situation.

“The sprinkler system put out the fire,” Vahlkamp said. “But, smoke did fill the room and hallway.”

Vahlkamp said there were no injuries.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Cranbrook, BC, Canada – Suspicious fire at middle school limited by activated sprinkler system

The investigation into a fire at Laurie Middle School is ongoing, as school district staff have shut down the building for repairs stemming from a rooftop fire.  Cranbrook RCMP along with Fire and Emergency Services responded to the blaze early Wednesday morning, as fire fighters extinguished the blaze and police assisted with an investigation into the cause.

While authorities haven’t determined what started the fire, it is considered suspicious by the RCMP.  Anyone who has information about the fire is encouraged to call the Cranbrook RCMP at 250-489-3471 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

The Southeast Kootenay school district has closed Laurie Middle School for Thursday and Friday, however, class will be back in session on Monday, Nov. 16.

“The fire damage was limited to the exterior of the building, but it did trigger our sprinkler system, so we didn’t get any fire inside the school because our sprinkler systems worked like they’re supposed to work,” Rob Norum, treasurer with School District 5, said.

While staff and contractors are cleaning that area up to reopen on Monday, the gym was much harder hit.

“The gym is a different story. We’ve got water inside some of the walls and in some of the insulation in the ceiling and some water underneath the floor,” said Norum. “We don’t know the extent of the damage there, but we’re getting that assessed to see if we have to do any major renos.

“We’ve already had an engineer in; he’s going to continue to look at the building to make sure we don’t have any structural issues. We’ve had an air quality expert in and he’s cleared the building.”

Primary / Secondary School

Asheville, NC – Sprinkler quells fire that started in art kiln at charter school

An indoor kiln’s exhaust fan at Evergreen Community Charter School failed Thursday night, causing heat to build up and the sprinkler to activate. The Asheville Fire Department responded to the school shortly after 8 p.m., said spokeswoman Kelley Klope.

The sprinkler system cooled the kiln and prevented a fire, she said. Had there not been a sprinkler system, the heat buildup could have ignited nearby combustibles and the overhead ceiling, which could have caused a structure fire, Klope said.

The school’s art room sustained minor heat damage to some overhead lighting and minor water damage. Sprinkler systems use less water to suppress early onset fires than fire crews do, Klope said.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, if a home fire occurs, the risk of dying decreases by about 80 percent when the home is equipped with a fire sprinkler system.

Primary / Secondary School, Residential

East Hampton, NY – Fire at boarding school extinguished by sprinkler system

The fire that broke out at the Ross Upper School on Wednesday night appears to have been caused by a dryer that caught on fire in the laundry room at the Center for Well Being, according to a report in 27east. The fire, which caused minor damage to the laundry room, was extinguished by automatic sprinkler system in the building, according to the report.  Members of both the East Hampton Fire Department and the Bridgehampton Fire Department blew the fire smoke out of the building’s basement and outside using large fans, 27east.

A fire broke out at the Ross Upper School campus in East Hampton on Wednesday night, according to a report in The East Hampton Star. Police responded to the school on 20 Goodfriend Drive at about 10:15 p.m. and put out a fire in the basement laundry room at the Center for Well Being, according to the report.  The fire was put out by about 10:40 p.m., The East Hampton Star reports.

 

 

 

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Summerside, PE, Canada – Fire at elementary school extinguished by sprinkler system; Classes resume next day

Most classes at Elm Street Elementary School in Summerside, P.E.I., will resume on Tuesday after a small fire forced the cancellation of all classes on Monday. The fire started near a ventilation fan in the computer server room at about 4:30 p.m. local time Sunday.

Summerside fire Chief Jim Peters said the sprinkler system had put out the fire by the time firefighters arrived. “It was just a matter of us, the firefighters, shutting down the sprinkler system and clearing some smoke,” said Peters.

Shutting down the sprinklers, however, took about 30 minutes, said English Language School Board superintendent Cynthia Fleet. The water soaked through the floor and ran into classrooms below, including the kindergarten.

Because of the water damage, kindergarten will be cancelled again Tuesday. All other classes will go ahead Tuesday as usual. Kindergarten classes will resume Wednesday, with changes for one classroom.

“Tomorrow, we will have teachers with workers from the school board move furniture and materials back into two classrooms, and a third classroom will be relocated into the breakfast area,” Fleet said.

“So that is why the breakfast program will not be in operation for the remainder of the week.”

Communications at the school will be by telephone only until the computer system is restored.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Troy, MI – Sprinkler system extinguishes kitchen fire at preschool; no injuries

The Troy Fire Department was dispatched to the School Bell Early Childhood Education Center on Troy’s northeast side Saturday evening in response to a fire alarm that was activated at the school.

Upon arrival around 6:15 p.m., firefighters observed water from the sprinkler system coming out from around a closed window, the report said. After entering the building, which was unoccupied at the time, firefighters could see smoke coming from the school’s kitchen. The fire had already been extinguished by the sprinkler system, so firefighters shut the water off to the sprinklers and ventilated the smoke from the building, the report said.

Preliminary investigation showed that the fire occurred after the stove was accidentally turned on when produce items were delivered and placed on top of it several hours earlier.

Fire damage was limited to the stove top and cabinets above, and the preschool was able to open for classes on Monday. Fire personnel were on the scene for about 45 minutes.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Wilmington, DE – Morning fire at elementary school extinguished by sprinkler system

Stubbs Elementary School in Wilmington was evacuated after a small fire Monday morning, but the site will reopen Tuesday. Principal Jeffers Brown “will be notifying parents and staff of this decision,” Christina School District Public Information Officer Wendy Lapham said.

City fire crews were dispatched at 8:10 a.m. after sprinklers set off an automatic alarm, according to Battalion Chief James R. Jobes, the department’s public information officer. Firefighters found medium-heavy smoke on the second floor with water in the hallway, Jobes said. Crews that began searching the second floor with fire hoses found an activated sprinkler in one room, with the fire already out, he said.

Nearly 330 students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade were relocated from their school in the 1100 block of N. Pine St. to the nearby Howard High School of Technology in the 400 block of E. 12th St., Lapham said.

 

“Being right across the street, it worked out perfect,” she said.

 

Since school doesn’t start until 9 a.m, only teachers and other staff members were in the building, Lapham said.

 

Arriving buses were directed to the high school, she said, and students who walk were escorted there.

 

Water from the sprinkler reached adjoining rooms and leaked through the floor to classrooms below, he said.

 

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Wilmington Fire Marshal’s Office.

 

Parents and concerned citizens may call the school at (302) 429-4175 for more information.

 

There was no immediate estimate of damage to the elementary school, built in 1953 and named for city native Dr. Frederick Douglass Stubbs, one of the country’s top thoracic surgeons.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Sparks, NV – Sprinkler system puts out fire at high school during school hours; No injuries

Students at Spanish Springs High School held their first fire drill of the year at around 9:45 a.m. Shortly after noon, they were rehashing what they’d learned for real. A small fire broke out in the 100 wing of the school just a few hours after the fire drill. The alarms rang immediately throughout the school while the sprinkler system activated in the area of the fire and put it out.

Washoe County School District spokeswoman Victoria Campbell said the students left the building without incident. Campbell said the Sparks Fire Department showed up and mopped some of the school since it was a little damp. Students were back in class around an hour after it happened, save for the classroom where the fire originated.

“There were no injuries, no problems,” she said. “The school was completely empty and everyone got outside.” A call went out to parents around 3 p.m. informing them of the incident. Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the fire.