Primary / Secondary School, School / University Elmhurst, IL – Fire in middle school science lab doused by sprinkler system March 27, 2015 viking210 A “chemical reaction” caused a small fire in a science classroom at a west suburban middle school Wednesday morning, causing a lot of smoke, but no injuries. The Elmhurst Fire Department was called about 9:45 a.m. to an activated fire alarm at Sandburg Middle School at 345 E. St. Charles Rd., a statement from the department said. Firefighters found “heavy smoke coming from a science classroom located on the lower level,” though the fire had already been doused by the school’s sprinkler system, the statement said. All students and staff were evacuated from the building as firefighters ventilated the area, replaced a sprinkler head and cleaned up. A fire department investigation showed a chemical reaction had triggered the fire, though no students were present in the classroom at the time. No injuries were reported.
