Students Safe After Fire In Lawrence School
LAWRENCE (CBS) -- Flames broke out at the Bruce School Monday morning, forcing students and staff to evacuate while emergency crews battled the two-alarm fire.
Crews arrived on scene for the fire that erupted just before 8:30 a.m., dampening flames at the elementary school. All of the approximately 525 students and 70 staff members escaped the building safely.
"We're just pleased that all our kids and staff members got out safe. The procedures that we practice worked," Lawrence Public Schools superintendent Jeffrey Riley said. "The teachers did a really great job at keeping the kids calm, getting them where they needed to be."
Firefighters say the flames likely started in a second floor classroom. Deputy Fire Chief John McInnis said the fire did not spread outside the one classroom, but the building sustained heavy water and smoke damage.
Lawrence Fire telling #Wbz the fire started in a classroom and went to 2 alarms. Children have been taken to other city schools today. pic.twitter.com/1M5aCV1oXi
— KarynRegal (@Karynregal) November 14, 2016
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Students from the Bruce school were taken to the nearby Guilmette School on Monday, and classes were canceled on Tuesday. Parents should wait for automatic phone calls from the school on where their students will go for the remainder of the week.
The Bruce school educates students in grades 3 through 8.
According to the Eagle Tribune, the Bruce School suffered a devastating fire in 1951 that raged for more than six hours. The school was rebuilt in 1954.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karyn Regal reports