| By SHAWN COHEN
spcohen@gannett.com
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: May 19, 2005)
A fire at Fox Lane High School just before noon yesterday spread through five lockers, prompting an evacuation of the building and an investigation into the cause of the fire.
Bedford Village 1st Assistant Fire Chief Matt Halpin said the fire was lit in one of the lockers in the school's F wing, but the exact cause was still being investigated by the Westchester County Cause and Origin Team. No accelerants had been found, Halpin said.
Bedford police, meanwhile, questioned the student locker holders. Bedford Schools Superintendent Debra Jackson said she was told that police had no suspects.
The fire was reported about 11:30 a.m. All of the roughly 1,200 students had been evacuated by the time firefighters arrived.
Some 40 firefighters from the Bedford Village, Bedford Hills and Mount Kisco departments found heavy smoke when they arrived. Halpin and two other firefighters extinguished the flames using hand-held water canisters.
As crews ventilated the building, students were allowed to return for lunch in another section of the school, but had to eat outside an inconvenience many didn't seem to mind, given the mild weather.
People were allowed to return to classes about 1:30 p.m. No one was injured.
"It was more like a typical fire drill," Jackson said. "Everyone exited the building, and everyone was calm." |
