Class to resume at Goshen Elementary following small fire
Published 10:00 pm Saturday, September 27, 2008
Class will resume normally Monday at Goshen Elementary School following a small fire in a breaker box that forced the early dismissal of students on Friday.
The incident caused little damage, but produced enough smoke to warrant the evacuation of 13 classrooms in the 200 building, said interim-principal Jackie Hall.
Students and staff were evacuated safely, the school system reported, but one teacher was taken by private vehicle to Troy Regional Medical Center for treatment of smoke inhalation.
Hall said there was a burning smell in the 200 building early that morning and maintenance was called to investigate the building’s wiring. When the hallway breaker box was opened around 8:30, it sparked and briefly caught fire.
“It burned up all the wires and filled the hall with smoke,” Hall said. “For safety we got all the kids out of the building. The kids did great.”
While students enjoyed unscheduled free time on the playground and in the gym, fans whirled in the halls as 200 building aired out.
Maintenance coordinator Mike Johnson said workers removed the damaged breaker box and will replace it over the weekend.
“We’ll have everything back up and running by Monday,” Johnson said. “We’re just glad this was caught in time.”