Arson Damages Amish School In Central Pennsylvania, Fire Officials Say

Sunday, June 10th 2007, 8:42 pm

By: News On 6

BROWNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) _ One or more people broke into a one-room Amish schoolhouse in the middle of the night and set a fire that caused an estimated $20,000 in damage, fire officials said.

Firefighters responded to the fire at the Pleasant Valley School in West Earl Township shortly after 3 a.m. Saturday, according to Jonas Reiff, chief of the Farmersville Fire Company. It was put out in about 15 minutes.

Firefighters said the school's doors were locked and there were signs of a break-in.

Deputy State Police Fire Marshal James DeWalt ruled the fire was arson. He said there were no signs of vandalism and nothing appeared to have been stolen.

The one-room schoolhouse is attended by Amish and Old Order Mennonite schoolchildren in Lancaster County's Amish community. Classes there had recently finished for the year, Reiff said.

Police said they did not immediately have any suspects.

The building is less than 20 miles north of Nickel Mines, where a gunman shot 10 girls _ five of them fatally _ at an Amish school in October; he killed himself as police closed in.