PORTLAND, Ore. --
A three-alarm fire tore through a southeast Portland school and caused significant damage Tuesday.
The fire started just before noon and the school was quickly evacuated. All 460 students and 17 teachers have been accounted for, said Kim Kosmas in a Portland Fire and Rescue news release.
Two adults suffered minor smoke inhalation, fire crews said. No children were injured.
Witnesses said there are 100 firefighters on the scene. The fire significantly damaged at least one-third of the school and the thick, black smoke was visible from downtown Portland.
Amber Stenseth, the school's head custodian, said the fire mostly burned kindergarten and 3rd grade classrooms. She said the fire alarm went off during lunch period and the children filed out in an orderly fashion.
"I went to the office to check to find out where it was coming from and where it was going off and our principal came running down saying, 'It's burning from the Discovery Zone.' And, 'This is not a joke, we need to get out,'" Stenseth said.
Stenseth said the fire may have started in the Discovery Zone, a hands-on classroom that allows students to learn about physics and engineering.
Robb Cowie, a Portland Public Schools spokesman, said he did not have any information about how the fire started.
Parents were told to pick up their children at the Holgate Public Library, which was accessible from Southeast 82nd Avenue. Staff members stayed with students until they were picked up by parents, Cowie said, and students that ride the bus will receive transportation home at the regular time.
It's not immediately known where the students will go to school Thursday, but Rose City Park School in northeast Portland is an option. Cowie said parents will be notified when an alternate location for school is selected.
The school will be closed Wednesday for Veterans Day.
The school, located at 7733 SE Raymond St., houses students in kindergarten through 8th grade. The school building was built in 1922.
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