Primary / Secondary School, School / University Westerly, RI – Closet fire at high school extinguished with help from sprinkler system September 22, 2016 viking210 A small fire that started in the closet of a technology room at Westerly High School Tuesday was caused by an electrical malfunction in a piece of audio-visual equipment being stored in the closet. Westerly Fire Chief John Mackay said Wednesday that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the fire, adding that the school’s sprinkler system worked effectively and aided firefighters in quickly containing and extinguishing the small closet fire. The fire never spread outside the closet, officials said, and no injuries were reported. Westerly firefighters and police were dispatched to the high school just after 3:15 p.m. Tuesday with reports of a box alarm sounding. They arrived to find black smoke coming from a closet in the tech room closest to the gymnasium foyer. Mackay said the sprinkler system had already doused most of the flames by the time firefighters arrived. Classes were back in session on Wednesday.
