Students dismissed early at Bethel Local Schools after small basement fire

UPDATE @ 11:40 a.m.:

Students at Bethel Local Schools are being dismissed early due to a small basement fire, according to Superintendent Justin Firks.

>> High CO levels forces early dismissal at Clark-Shawnee middle/high school building

The school had a transformer go out, which caused a power surge when the generator kicked in and caused one of the air compressors in the boiler room to catch fire.

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“We immediately hit the fire alarm and evacuated students and staff from the building,” he said. “Everyone was evacuated safely. All students and staff were accounted for and there were no injuries.”

The dismissal will begin at noon with buses for middle and high school students then followed by the elementary students, Firks said.

Parents are allowed to pick up and sign out their children from the school, but all middle or elementary school students will need to stay at the school until they get picked up or ride the bus home.

Children on the bus whose parent is not home will remain on the bus and get transported back to school to be supervised until a parent can pick them up.

The fire at Bethel Local Schools was the first of two issues today at area schools that forced early dismissals. At the Clark-Shawnee middle/high school building in Clark County, a carbon monoxide issue forced an evacuation and early dismissal at the building Monday morning.

FIRST REPORT:

Students and staff members were evacuated from the Bethel Local Schools building after a fire was reported in the basement of the school Monday morning.

The fire was reported at the school at 7490 state Route 201 around 10:10 a.m. Monday.

Initial reports indicate the fire was contained to an air compressor that caught fire in the basement of the building. Firefighters reported the fire was out on arrival, however some smoky conditions were reported in the building.

Some students and staff members were allowed to return inside the building just before 11 a.m., according to our crew on the scene.

No injuries have been initially reported.

We have a crew on the way and we’ll update this story as we learn more.