A chemistry lab at Hamburg High School caught fire after classes Thursday, prompting an evacuation and sending eight people to a hospital.
Steven P. Keifer, superintendent, said only a few people were in the building at 4:15 p.m., when the fire broke out.
"Just a couple of custodians and a couple of administrators," he said.
Some students who were in the school's gymnasium evacuated, but they were far from the area where the fire started, Keifer said.
It was unclear how the fire started. Keifer said no one was in the chemistry lab when the fire broke out and set off the school's fire alarm.
A custodian attempted unsuccessfully to put out the fire with a handheld extinguisher, Keifer said.
Hamburg Fire Company Chief Troy R. Hatt said the custodian's effort definitely helped, and firefighters were able to finish off the flames after arriving minutes after they were contacted by school staff.
However, because chemicals are stored in the room, firefighters remained on the scene and carefully checked to make sure there were no spills and that the fire was completely out, Hatt said.
Very few chemicals were actually involved in the fire, he said, and those that were mostly burned in the blaze. Officials from the state Department of Environmental Protection and staff from the school's science department were on hand to assist in identifying any risk from spilled chemicals.
Dozens of firefighters were on the scene, as well as at least two ambulance crews.
Eight people -- six firefighters and two school staff members -- were sent to local hospitals as a precaution because they might have come into contact with chemicals, officials said.
Their names were unavailable. Information on their conditions could not be obtained.
Hatt said emergency personnel sealed off the chemistry classroom so the rest of the school could continue to be used.
A cause and damage estimate for the fire were not available Thursday night. Hatt said the state police fire marshal will assist in an investigation.
Keifer said the fire, which only damaged the chemistry classroom, will not affect classes today. He said both the district's insurance company and a remediation crew were expected at the school late Thursday to make sure the building is safe.
"We're planning on opening on time tomorrow (today)," Keifer said.
Copyright 2012 - Reading Eagle, Pa.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
