Teacher's Candle Sets Empty Colorado Classroom on Fire

NORTHGLENN, Colo. (AP) -- A candle ignited a fire in an empty classroom at an elementary school on Thursday, triggering a schoolwide evacuation but causing no injuries, firefighters said.

A teacher had lighted the candle on a bookshelf while grading papers alone in a fourth-grade classroom at Stuckey Elementary, Metro North Fire Rescue spokeswoman Wendy Krajewski said.

The teacher was called away for a moment and upon returning discovered the room was on fire, she said.

Krajewski said flames had climbed to the top of one wall and the carpet was burning.

Smoke triggered fire alarms. A custodian extinguished the fire before firefighters arrived.

The teacher's name was not released. An investigation was under way, Krajewski said.