Classes are canceled again Wednesday at Surprise Lake Middle School after flames broke out inside one of the school’s buildings Monday.
The fire started in the maintenance room, which sits above the girls bathroom.
Principal Mark Beddes was inside the school when the fire alarm started going off around 4:15 p.m.
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"We saw smoke out of the top of the building and we looked in there and it looked like the sprinkler was already going,” he said.
Beddes quickly discovered a small fire.
"A lot of times, when fire alarms go off in the school, you kind of look to see where the false alarm is, but in this case it was a real fire,” said Superintendent Kevin Alfano. "The ceiling came down, the fire sprinkler system kicked in. Unfortunately, it didn't just kick in for this room, it kicked in for the whole building, so water damage in the gym and cafeteria is where we're looking as well."
Pictures from Monday night show ankle-deep water in the school’s cafeteria and gym. By Tuesday afternoon, cleanup crews had already been hard at work mopping up water and drying out the school.
Surprise Lake Middle School has two buildings, one holds most of the classrooms and one holds the cafeteria, gym and band room. Because of this, most of the school wasn’t damaged.
Parent Kimberly Yee found out about the fire through an automated call from the school district around 7 p.m. Monday.
"I'm not going to lie, (and say I’m) happy, but I think if it happened during school, our students do regular fire drills, so they would know what to do to get out safely,” she said.
The girls bathroom got the worst of the damage. The rest of the building is without heat and hot water and the sprinklers aren't working.
Alfano said voters just approved a bond for a new school earlier this year.
"Our dilemma is, because this building has about six months of life left, how much do we repair?" he said.
School is canceled Wednesday. The district said officials will be in touch with families once they know more.
Cox Media Group
