Fire Intentionally Set at California Middle School
Source Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.
Investigators say a fire that started in a bathroom of a middle school Wednesday and caused approximately $5,000 damage was set intentionally, a Contra Costa Fire Protection District official said.
The fire, which began in the girls' room at Black Diamond Middle School at about 12:15 p.m., began because somebody lit a roll of toilet paper, Batallion Chief Bob Atlas said. The fire, which didn't spread, was brought under control within minutes, he said. Nobody was injured.
Much of the damage was done to the walls, some of it by the water used to put out the fire, Atlas said.
Police or fire investigators did not announce any arrests.
Tim Cooper, the school's principal, wrote in an email that students completed the school's fire evacuation plan in record time and remained in a field at the school, the campus' evacuation area, for 45 minutes. He said they returned to class after firefighters declared the school safe and got out of school at the normal time, 1:15 p.m.
Copyright 2012 - Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
