Fire damages West Jay

DUNKIRK — Classes at West Jay Middle School were canceled today after a fire Wednesday evening.
The Dunkirk Fire Department responded to a 911 call at 7:47 p.m. at the school. Firefighters arrived on scene at 7:49 p.m. and found heavy smoke in the halls of the building. Firefighters traced the smoke to Cindy Wolverton’s classroom in the southwest area of the school where they found the fire.
A newly installed heating unit, worth about $25,000, had apparently overheated and caught fire.
West Jay’s second shift custodian, Wes Romine, saw smoke in the hallway, traced it to the classroom, and worked to extinguish the fire before dialing 911.
The fire was contained to a single classroom. Firefighters had the fire controlled by 7:58 p.m. but spent about an hour and a half working to control and clear the smoke.
The fire department responded with two trucks and 16 firefighters.
There were no students in the building at the time of the fire. Romine and a subcontractor were the only people inside.
Jay Schools Business Manager Brad DeRome said that school had been canceled today to give workers time to clean up the smoke damage.
Workers have removed ceiling tiles and pulled up carpet in the affected classroom. DeRome said classes are expected to resume on Friday.
 “We had a tremendous response from … our employees and from the fire department,” DeRome said.
Total monetary damages had not been calculated as of this morning and the official cause of the fire was still under investigation.[[In-content Ad]]