“A dryer in the athletic room at Hardeeville-Ridgeland Middle School caught fire,” the Jasper County School District said in a statement. “Our sprinkler system successfully extinguished the fire. Our teachers and staff followed our fire evacuation protocols and evacuated all students from Hardeeville Elementary School and Hardeeville-Ridgeland Middle School, safely and orderly, and all parents were informed immediately.”
The Hardeeville Fire Department responded around 12:52 p.m., Assistant Fire Chief Joey Rowell said. Rowell said the school had been evacuated quickly and everyone was outside and accounted for when firefighters arrived.
“The fire was in the rear of the school in the laundry area near the gymnasium,” Rowell said. “The dryer, which is a commercial dryer, had gotten too hot with some uniform equipment on the inside of it. The sprinklers in the school held the fire in check until firefighters could arrive and put out remaining hot spots. Without sprinklers, it could have gotten a lot worse with smoke.”
Rowell said the school had drainage systems in the floor of the laundry room area, which also helped. He said most of the damage was to the dryer and no damage estimate was immediately available.
“The fire department remained on scene until all systems could be returned to normal around 5 p.m.,” Rowell said. “This was good work by all, including the school district and the fire department.”
