Beaufort County high school evacuated after small fire late Monday afternoon
The Burton Fire District is investigating a fire that started Monday afternoon at Whale Branch Early College High School, causing it to be evacuated.
Firefighters were called out to the school around 5 p.m. after school officials spotted smoke coming from the back of the building, according to a Burton Fire District news release. When they got there, they saw that the fire was being put out with the help of the school’s sprinkler system. The fire is believed to have been started in the school’s commercial athletic dryer, officials said in a news release.
There were no injuries.
Students are not being allowed into the back area where the fire took place because of smoke damage, said Robert Oetting, the school district’s Chief Operations Officer. Oetting did not know how long the dryer had been there and the school district is waiting on the conclusion from Burton Fire’s investigation.
Assistant Chief Dan Byrne with the Burton Fire District said that the dryer contained “janitorial items” and firefighters believe it was an accident. The investigation into the fire is ongoing.
This is at least the third fire at a Beaufort County school this month.
Beaufort police and firefighters were called to Beaufort Middle School, 2501 Mossy Oaks Road, at about noon Monday after a report of a small fire in a restroom. The fire was quickly extinguished and normal classroom activities were resumed.
During spring break at Hilton Head High School, another fire resulted from a dryer at the school. The dryer is a personal-use dryer like the ones found in most homes, Oetting. In that instance, the fire caused damage to a wall and, because the room it is in is sandwiched between two classrooms, those areas have been closed off to students.
Candace Bruder, a school district spokesperson, said that the district is unable to comment on any pending law enforcement investigations or student disciplinary matters.
This story was originally published April 25, 2023 at 9:01 AM.
