Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Rags soaked in chemicals used to recently refinish a floor were believed to have been the cause of a fire that heavily damaged a storage room off the lower gym at the Presque Isle High School on Saturday.
“The Presque Isle Fire Department received a call around 5:02 p.m. Sept. 29 from a neighbor reporting he smelled something burning. Firefighters responded to investigate and saw smoke coming from the roof at the high school,” said Vince Baldwin, captain of the PIFD.
Baldwin said once firefighters were able to enter the building, they discovered the source of the smoke came from a storage room off the north end of the lower gym.
“We determined the cause of the fire to be oil-soaked rag material stored in a barrel. Spontaneous combustion occurred when materials used to finish a floor ignited in the container,” said Baldwin.
Baldwin said the room was being used to store various items, including chairs, wooden stage steps, shelving and other equipment.
“Everything was pretty well gone by the time we extinguished the fire. We were able to contain the blaze to that area,” Baldwin said.
In all, four trucks and 20 firefighters responded to tackle the fire. The scene was cleared at 7:10 p.m.
Baldwin said damage was in the thousands of dollars. He said the school is insured.
“We’ve received an estimate of damage to the building of $75,000, with an additional $30,000 for the contents of the room,” said Baldwin.
No injuries were reported as a result of the fire.
