SANTA CRUZ -- A fire Tuesday evening damaged a third-grade classroom at Bay View Elementary School.
Reports of the fire came in around 6:45 p.m., Santa Cruz Fire Battalion Chief Jason Hajduk said.
A fire truck driving nearby was the first to respond, finding smoke pouring from part of the Bay Street school. The classroom was locked when firefighters arrived. But crews were able to contain the fire within five to 10 minutes of arriving, Hajduk said.
No one was inside the school at the time.
The cause of the fire was determined to be electrical, Deputy Fire Chief Mark Ramos said.
The fire damage was contained to one classroom and Hajduk said firefighters were able to retrieve many of the school items within. Two other classrooms sustained smoke damage. Firefighters punctured holes in the ceilings of the classrooms in an effort to ventilate the rooms and allow any gases out.
Classes will be held as regularly scheduled, said Principal Mary Ann Robb, who was on scene.
"We have some extra classroom space," she said.
Ramos gave her a tour of the damage to the classrooms once it was determined to be safe to enter.
"The good thing is that crews caught it early," Ramos said. "It could have been a lot worse."
A damage estimate wasn't immediately available.
Members of the Santa Cruz Police Department also responded, assisting with blocking off traffic from Mission onto Bay. A passing Cal Fire truck also stopped to help.
"We've got robocalls going out to all the families (in the school) letting them know this happened," Santa Cruz City Schools Superintendent Gary Bloom said Tuesday night. "We will do everything we can to ensure this doesn't interrupt our educational programming."
Bay View Elementary School serves about 500 students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade.
Copyright 2012 - Santa Cruz Sentinel, Calif.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
