Lunenburg students evacuated as school catches fire on first day

Students at Lunenburg Middle High School were evacuated on the first day of school when a solar panel fire broke out on the roof of the building on Tuesday.

Students evacuated from Lunenburg school

"It's kind of just crazy. ... Me and all my friends were just like, 'It's so ironic. This is the first day of senior year, and the school is on fire," senior Paige Daley said. 

Senior Tatum Furman said students were wrapping up the lunch period when the alarm sounded. "We come outside, and all of a sudden, we're seeing black smoke billowing out of the back of the building and we hear the fire trucks," she said. 

Fire officials said a Lunenberg maintenance staff member reported the smoke on the roof just after 11 a.m. and called 911. The fire broke out over the gymnasium exercise area, but no students were inside the room. Firefighters had the fire under control in about 15 minutes.

"We arrived on scene, found a fire in the solar panels at the rear of the building. Five panels that were damaged and burning. Crews went up, accessed them with fire extinguishers, were able to extinguish them and were able to extinguish the roof deck that was burning while school was being evacuated," Lunenburg Fire Chief Patrick Sullivan said.

Little damage caused by fire

There was some damage to the roof, but very little smoke got inside the building. 

Sullivan said battling a solar panel fire poses its own set of challenges. 

"Use non-conductive agents like dry chemical extinguishers, carbon dioxide extinguishers. That was able to get it knocked down enough. If you use water - again, water conducts electricity - you have to be very careful," he said. 

Students were dismissed early by bus, while others had to wait for their parents to come pick them up. Superintendent Jodi Fortuna said she was pleased with the way her staff handled this emergency. "I am so grateful that no one was injured. It's the first day. This is my first day with kids in Lunenburg, and it was a little jittery, but everything went according to our emergency plans," she said. 

The fire remains under investigation, but investigators are looking at a possible electrical problem. Classes will resume on Wednesday.