Tulsa school fire closes school temporarily

A fire broke out at a Tulsa Public School Friday afternoon, forcing students out into the cold and canceling classes Friday and Monday.<br><br>The fire started in the ceiling, and spread smoke throughout

Saturday, December 2nd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A fire broke out at a Tulsa Public School Friday afternoon, forcing students out into the cold and canceling classes Friday and Monday.

The fire started in the ceiling, and spread smoke throughout the building. It was lunchtime at Lewis and Clark when the fire started. Dozens of firefighters responded to the report of smoke rising from the roof. Firefighters searched for the flames both from below and from above, while students waited on the playground.

Principal Ginger Bunnell, "they are safe, every student is accounted for." Smoke spread through the building, pushed by an air conditioning unit near the fire. The flames spread in the ceilings of three hallways, pulled by a ventilation fan in a shop class.

Fire crews cut in the roof to make sure the fire was out, but the damage was done much more damage than was visible. The fire burned through power and communications cables in the ceiling, which will take time to replace. While firefighters worked, students were moved out of the cold to the nearby Garnett Road Baptist Church. A teacher at the school said, "right now we're trying to get the kids over here so they'll be nice and warm."

The church is the adopt-a-school partner for Lewis and Clark. Officials say their regular fire drills paid off. Frank Mason with the Tulsa Fire Department "the school officials did a great job today getting the kids together making sure they got out of the building."

The 600 students were out of class for the afternoon and will be out Monday as well. Again, classes at the school are cancelled Monday. The district will make a decision this weekend about the rest of the week.