After a small electrical fire in a computer lab at the Cinnaminson Middle School Tuesday morning, the lab is back open today and everything is back to normal, said Principal Frank Goulburn.
Shortly before noon on Oct. 9, a language arts class was working in the upstairs computer lab.
“All of a sudden, all 20 computers turned off,” Goulburn said.
Under one of the tables the computers were on, a power strip that was up against the wall started sparking and flaming, he said.
A student pulled the fire alarm to alert the school, and students and staff filed out.
Goulburn said the power strip was not overloaded but there was a wiring issue.
Only about an hour was taken out of the students’ day, Goulburn said. They spent about 20 minutes outside while fire officials were in the building. When officials deemed it safe, the students were housed in the gym and cafeteria for another half hour.
“Once it was clear and everything was safe, we bought them back in,” Goulburn said.
Local fire marshals and the school’s insurance company both looked at the damage and Goulburn said everything is fine now—except for two computer hard drives that are no longer working.
Plus, there’s a burn mark on the wall.
“But otherwise, everything is fixed, and everything is safe,” he said.
Goulburn credited the students and staff for their cooperation during what turned out to be a real fire, not a drill.
“We were very happy with the way the kids behaved,” he said. “Everyone acted the way they were supposed to. We’re very happy that everyone is fine and it’s back to normal.”
