FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- A $30,000 piece of playground equipment bought through two years' of donations by school children was damaged this week in a fire that officials are calling suspicious.
The Holcomb Elementary School playground burned Wednesday evening. The equipment had been installed during spring break -- after children raised money through fundraisers the last two years.
``Disappointment comes to mind. That is what the students are feeling today. This was their equipment. They worked hard on this and they were proud of it,'' said LaTayna Greene, Holcomb's vice principal.
Firefighters found the slides on fire when they arrived at the school Wednesday evening. The slides were manufactured from recycled tire materials.
The Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the incident.
``When I saw it, it made me sick. Everyone worked so hard for this,'' said Crissy Hancock, a second vice president of the school's Parent-Teacher Association, who visited the site Thursday.
Other equipment on the playground was coated in soot after the blaze.
The equipment was donated to the school by the PTA and might be covered under the school's insurance policy, said Mike Gray, associate superintendent for operations.
