Iowa School Catches Fire; Over 400K In Damages

Jan. 19, 2005
The 450 students at the Laurens-Marathon school in northwest Iowa will be out of school at least the rest of the week following a fire at the school's shop room.
LAURENS, Iowa (AP) -- The 450 students at the Laurens-Marathon school in northwest Iowa will be out of school at least the rest of the week following a fire at the school's shop room.

Damage to the building could be more than $400,000, a state fire official said Tuesday.

The fire apparently started in the industrial arts shop early Monday, Deputy State Fire Marshal David Schipper said.

No one was injured. The shop sustained heavy fire damage and several areas of the school received smoke damage, Schipper said.

Samples from the scene have been taken for analysis and the shop's electrical service is being investigated, Schipper said.

Superintendent Michael Wright said the school was not occupied when the fire department answered an alarm at 1:03 a.m. The K-12 school will remain closed until the building is cleaned and the investigation is complete, at least for the rest of the week.

" (We) kind of have to take it a day at a time,'' Wright said. "Got to make sure it's safe for the kids.''

Preliminary cleaning started Tuesday night and crews are expected to work for the next several days, Wright said.

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