A Kelowna high school has been evacuated after a suspicious fire broke out in the building Friday morning.
Shortly before 10:30 a.m., firefighters responded to a call of a blaze in a boy’s washroom at Rutland Secondary School. Smoke filled up parts of the school.
Students were moved to Rutland Arena.
Mitchell MacDonald, 15, a grade 10 student at RSS, says some students were sent to the gym at Rutland Middle School.
MacDonald said the gym was fairly crowded but students weren’t very concerned about the fire and subsequent evacuation. He notes that there was music playing in the gym and some students were dancing to pass the time.
Platoon Captain Laurie Serres with the Kelowna Fire Department tells CHBC News that the blaze was intentionally set.
Serres says someone lit the paper towel dispenser in a boy’s bathroom on fire. He notes damage was confined to the dispenser and there was minor smoke damage to the bathroom.
He adds the building was ventilated and fortunately no students experienced smoke inhalation. No injuries were reported.
Serres says the blaze is now under investigation by the RCMP.
Larry Paul, secretary treasurer for School District 23 says there are about 1,300 students and 200 staff members at the high school, which includes grades 10 to 12.
Get breaking National news
“Certainly it was a bit of excitement but there’s always excitement at schools,” Paul said. “The staff and the students have managed it well. It’s just an activity of the day, unfortunately an unusual one.”
A viewer submitted picture (below) shows tarp and caution tape now cover the bathroom where the blaze started. No students are being allowed inside the bathroom.
Meanwhile crews arrived at Rutland Secondary to mop up the mess left behind by the fire.
Comments