Sandy Hook School Fire Prompts Evacuation
Sandy Hook School Fire Prompts Evacuation
By Andrew Gorosko
Investigators are probing the cause of a small fire that occurred in Sandy Hook School midafternoon on Monday, September 22, as students there were preparing to leave school for the day.
Fire Marshal Bill Halstead said the first firefighters who arrived at the school found paper hand towels burning in a wastepaper basket in a boysâ rest room. They used a pressurized-water fire extinguisher to put out the blaze, which involved the plastic wastebasket and its contents. There were no injuries in the incident at the Dickinson Drive school, which serves kindergarten through Grade 4 students. There are approximately 650 students enrolled at the school.
Rising smoke in the boysâ rest room had triggered a smoke alarm, which in turn set off the automatic fire alarm that summoned firefighters to the scene at 3:19 pm, the fire marshal said. Fortunately, firefighters were present in the nearby Sandy Hook Firehouse when the fire alarm sounded, resulting in a prompt response, he said. Mr Halstead also is the Sandy Hook fire chief.
After the fire alarm sounded, the hundreds of students who attend Sandy Hook School made a prompt and orderly evacuation of the building, exiting the school in approximately one minute, Mr Halstead said.
The small children sat outside the school in clusters near their teachers, watching from a safe distance as fire trucks moved about on the property. As the children waited, the many buses that transport them to and from school began arriving at the property to take them home.
The school was fully occupied with students and staff when the fire occurred, the fire marshal said.
Mr Halstead estimated the damage done by the fire at $500.
The burning wastebasket and its contents created smoke and fumes, which damaged nearby walls and a ceiling, the fire marshal said, adding that the smoke was largely contained in the rest room, though some smoke made its way into a nearby hallway.
It is unclear whether the fire was set, or whether it occurred accidentally, he said; evidence in the case is being checked and fire investigators are working with school staff members to learn how the fire started.
Following firefightersâ work inside the school, students were allowed back into the building, Mr Halstead said. The incident caused delays in students returning home from school, he added.
About 25 Sandy Hook and Newtown Hook and Ladder firefighters went to the school. Hawleyville firefighters were initially summoned, but stayed at their firehouse after the scope of the fire was learned.