North Rowan High School evacuated Friday when fire starts in a fuse box

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Staff report
SPENCER ó A fire in a fuse box resulted in the evacuation of North Rowan High School Friday morning.
There were no injuries and the fire was extinguished before firefighters arrived.
“A maintenance guy knocked it out with a huge fire extinguisher,” said Jay Baker, Spencer’s fire chief.
He said the fire started in and was limited to a fuse box in a boiler room. Baker said the fire set off smoke detectors throughout the school.
The incident happened about 7:20 a.m. Baker said students were in the process of arriving at school. Those inside the school were evacuated and those who arrived while firefighters were at the school had to stay outside momentarily.
Baker said power to the school was restored before firefighters left. He said power to the wing of the building that sustained the fire will likely have to be cut when repairs are made.
As small as Friday’s fire was, the response from area fire departments was large. In addition to Spencer, fire departments from Franklin, Ellis and Salisbury responded.
Baker said the turnout was part of a “planned response” that comes anytime there is a fire call to a school.