Category Archives: Primary / Secondary School

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Suquamish, WA – Sprinkler system keeps arson fire in check at elementary school; No injuries reported

 North Kitsap Fire & Rescue crews responded to a fire at Squamish Elementary School at 11:51 p.m. Wednesday night that officials say was the result of someone setting a couch on fire just outside the school.

Squamish Elementary School is part of the North Kitsap School district and is located at 8950 Park Blvd NE, Suquamish, WA 98392.

Arriving firefighter crews found heavy smoke at the scene, water flowing from the sprinkler system, but no flames. 

“About 100 square feet of the building’s exterior finish was blackened. School officials believe that the couch, which was destroyed in the incident, was dumped by unknown person(s) in or near the building’s dumpster,” North Kitsap Fire & Rescue said in a news release. 

A fire investigation of the Kitsap County Fire Marshal’s Office responded to the scene and determined the fire was intentionally set. 

Officials say no firefighters or civilians were injured in the fire. 

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Deputy Fire Marshal Ken Rice at (360) 337-5777.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

New Caney, TX – Sprinkler system contained fire at school to one classroom; No injuries reported

Summer activities at a New Caney ISD school will be delayed Friday after an overnight fire.

Just before midnight, emergency crews were dispatched to Porter High School in regards to an alarm call.

Upon arrival, firefighters say the sprinkler system had contained the fire in a cosmetology classroom but there was still heavy smoke inside the building.

First responders even arrived with an airboat to assist in getting the smoke out.

There are a couple of events, including band practice that will be delayed.

The school year’s starting date was not affected. The first day of school is August 20.

According to authorities, no one was hurt during the fire.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Concord, MA – High school fire caused by malfunctioning electrical equipment with fish tank is contained by sprinkler system

A fire started in Concord-Carlisle Regional High School the morning of Tuesday, July 31 at approximately 5:40, according to district spokesman Tom Lucey.  Members of the Concord Fire Department and the state fire marshal were still investigating the incident, but the officials suspect electrical equipment associated with a fish tank caused the fire.  Lucey said the fire was contained quickly by the school’s sprinkler system and only one room was damaged by the fire. The Concord Fire Department arrived shortly after to make sure the fire was out and the area was safe.  Water damage from the sprinklers was more extensive, affecting 12 classrooms on the third and fourth floors and the school’s gymnasium.  No one was believed to be injured as a result of the fire, according to Lucey, who said he believed the building was empty when the fire started.

While the school is still assessing the damage, Lucey said the fire was unlikely to change the start of the school year, which is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 29.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Richland, WA – Stove top fire at elementary school contained by sprinkler system

A small fire in Richland’s newest school, Jefferson Elementary, won’t stop the doors opening Aug. 28.

A stove in the school’s life skills room was accidentally left on Tuesday, and set some paper on fire, Battalion Chief Mike Wroolie told the Herald.

Some neighbors noticed the fire and called 911 about 9:30 p.m.

Luckily, the nearly $17 million school’s sprinkler system was working as well and helped contain the fire to the stove top. Some nearby cabinets were scorched, but the fire didn’t spread any farther.

Richland School District is still assessing the damage from the fire and the water to the new school along George Washington Way.

The building is the final school being built as part of a 2013 bond. The 65,000-square-foot school can house 630 students when it’s finished this fall.

According to a post on the district’s Facebook page, the damage will not prevent the building from opening for the start of school. Photos on the district’s website show a building that is nearly finished.

Officials thanked the school’s neighbors who spotted the blaze.

The oldest part of the school was built in 1953 and was demolished as part of the project. The 1982 addition is becoming the district’s preschool center.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Plymouth, MA – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire in high school classroom

Classes will take place as scheduled at Plymouth North High School despite a small fire that broke out inside a classroom early Monday morning.

The fire started just after 6 a.m., but was put out by the sprinkler system.

No students were inside the school yet. Some students and staff members who were in the parking lot were held in their cars and buses while firefighters investigated.

They were then sent to the performing arts center, school library, and classrooms that were safe to enter.

The Plymouth Fire Department said the fire does not appear to be suspicious. A cause was not released.

“We are thankful to the Plymouth Fire Department and our staff for their swift and efficient response,” the school said in a statement.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Souris, PEI, Canada – Grease fire at school is extinguished with help from sprinkler system

A small grease fire at Souris Regional School sent students home on Wednesday.  The fire started around 11:15 a.m. in the home economics lab, says John Cummings, director of corporate services with the Public Schools Branch.  The fire was quickly extinguished before firefighters arrived.  Sprinklers were activated in the area of the fire leaving the need to clean up water and reset the sprinkler system, notes Cummings.  He says the extent of water damage is being assessed but is not expected to be significant. Roughly 500 students attend Souris Regional.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Palm Coast, FL – Student arson fire in elementary school bathroom extinguished by sprinkler system

Due to a small fire in a bathroom in Building No. 2, students at Rymfire were evacuated, but they returned to classrooms on the other side of the campus.  At approximately 12:30 p.m. on Friday, May 18, the fire alarm at Rymfire Elementary School was activated and all students were evacuated. It was determined a student had set fire to a paper towel dispenser located in Building No. 2. The sprinkler system kept flames to the single bathroom.

With the threat of severe weather in the area, the buildings on the other side of campus were determined safe and all students were then moved into those rooms, as well as the gymnasiums. There were no injuries during this incident.

Crews with the Palm Coast Fire Department, as well as Flagler Schools Custodial, are in the process of clearing the area of water and getting classrooms cleaned, and students are returning to their classes. Students in the kindergarten and first-grade classrooms are being moved to alternate rooms at this time so that instruction can continue.  Flagler Schools does not anticipate this having a major impact on dismissal at 3:20 p.m. All after-school activities are still taking place.  School cleanup crews will work throughout the weekend to ensure the affected classrooms will be ready for students Monday.

In an email, Palm Coast Communications and Marketing Manager Cindi Lane said Fire Chief Mike Beadle said: “Fire is out by sprinklers, and we are on scene assisting with water damage. Situation under control.”

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Mason, OH – Daytime fire at high school that started in classroom dust collector is extinguished by sprinkler system

A small fire at Mason High School caused students and the attached community center to evacuate around noon on Tuesday. Classes and all after-school activities were canceled for the rest of the day, and 3600 students were sent home. “The dust collector in our computer aided design, or CAD classes, is where the fire started. Thankfully no injuries, no one was hurt, but it did create quite a bit of smoke,” Mason Schools spokeswoman Tracey Carson said.

The fire activated the school’s sprinkler system and was extinguished quickly, Carson said, but afterward there were elevated levels of carbon monoxide. Students said smoke filled the hallways quickly. “I was walking back from lunch, and I was going to my next bell’s class, and all the doors shut, so I was like, ‘Why are they shutting, maybe we’re just having a fire drill,’ and then it smelled really bad, and I saw a ton of fog, and I ran outside,” student Natalie Mishu said. “I was at the top level, and I was walking down the stairs, and I started to smell it more, and it was just full of smoke down there,” student Jacob Nusser said.

Students who were in the CAD classroom said classmates and their teacher acted immediately. They said someone pulled the fire alarm while others grabbed fire extinguishers. “Our teacher was very good at handling the situation,” student Elric Nijakowski said. “Yes, he was very prepared,” student Eric Vermillion said. No injuries were reported. By 4 p.m. the district was given the all clear.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Clinton, IL – Sprinkler system prevents kitchen fire from spreading at high school; No injuries reported

The Clinton Fire Department responded to a fire alarm that was set off at Clinton Junior High School on Monday night.

Fire officials were called to the scene just after 9 p.m. on Monday night.

When fire crews arrived, they found smoke and a small fire in the kitchen. According to Clinton Fire officials, the sprinkler system was set off which helped to prevent the fire from spreading.

The flames were put out and the school was turned back over to staff to clean the area.

No injuries were reported.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Lacey Township, NJ – Fire at middle school knocked down by sprinkler system; Terrarium possible cause

Firefighters and other first responders put out a fire at Lacey Township Middle School Tuesday. Nobody was hurt, according to school officials, and police said students had not even arrived at school when the fire broke out.

“The Middle School experienced an isolated small fire this morning in a second-floor classroom while the building was unoccupied activating the fire suppression system,” according to a Facebook post from the township public school district.

Township police issued a statement later in the day.  The fire “may have started in a terrarium within the classroom,” wrote police Capt. Patrick Ganley.

Firefighters from the Forked River and Lanoka Harbor volunteer fire companies knocked down the fire, and “minimal fire and smoke damage was reported, however as a result of the sprinkler system activation, there was a significant amount of water in the classroom and the surrounding areas that needed to be cleaned,” Ganley said

Staff and students from the middle school instead reported to the gymnasium at the Lacey Township High School on the same campus, according to police and school officials. Middle school students were dismissed early.