CEDAR CITY — A small fire in a restroom trash can caused a brief evacuation of Enoch Elementary School Friday morning.
Kevin Garrett, director of special programs for Iron County School District, said he went to the school, located at 4701 Wagon Wheel Drive E, after the school’s staff called to notify district officials about the fire.
“A fire was started in the trash container in one of the bathrooms in the school,” Garrett told Cedar City News. “The school was evacuated and the fire department was called to the school. The school administration and teachers and staff were able to discover the fire and use the fire extinguisher to put the fire out before it grew larger.”
Cedar City Fire Chief Mike Phillips confirmed that the fire was already out by the time firefighters arrived.
“We just evacuated smoke from the building,” Phillips said.
No injuries were reported, and damage was minimal, being limited to the trash container itself.
The circumstances surrounding the fire are still under investigation, but Enoch City Manager Rob Dotson did confirm that city police investigators believe the fire was intentionally set.
Dotson praised the school’s teachers, staff and students for the smooth and orderly way they evacuated the building.
“They did an amazing job of getting everyone out of the building safely,” Dotson said.
The entire incident lasted less than an hour, Garrett said, noting the fire alarm went off at 9:13 a.m. and students were back in class by 10 a.m.
Garrett said parents were made aware of the incident via text messages sent out using the district’s automated “Remind” system.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.