Fire inspectors believe that the fire at W.H. Atwell Middle School Academy started when someone ignited curtains on a stage inside the auditorium, said Lt. Joel Lavender, a Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman.
They determined that the two-alarm fire was arson within an hour of responding at 10:30.
"We had a fire in an area where there couldn't have been a fire,"Lavender said. "But as to who or why someone did it has yet to be determined."
Lavender said three adults who tried to extinguish the fire were treated for smoke inhalation at a hospital.
Fire officials were still investigating the fire late Monday, but the preliminary findings indicated that the fire was set by a student, Lavender said.
The south Dallas school's 800 students were sent to nearby Turner Elementary School. District officials were to decide late Monday whether the seventh- and eight-graders would return today, said Donald Claxton, a Dallas school spokesman.
The school's principal was out of town at a conference. However, the school's dean followed the district's procedures in evacuating the students, Claxton said.
"The dean calmly advised students and faculty that this was a real fire and not a drill," Claxton said. "By all accounts, they followed procedures, and no one was seriously hurt."
