Hundreds Flee Blaze at N.J. School
Fire broke out Friday in an elementary school here, but the hundreds of students and teachers inside escaped unharmed after the principal ran through the halls giving a warning, officials and students said.
Fire Department dispatcher Bob Savage said the fire at Public School No. 9 was reported at 9:16 a.m. and spread quickly throughout the building.
The principal ran through the halls alerting students and staff before the fire alarm went off, said eighth-grade student Phillip Anzio as he stood outside, shivering in sub-freezing cold.
The city’s entire force of firefighters was called out as flames shot through the school’s roof, officials said.
Fire Capt. Arthur Manzo said the fire started in a cloakroom of a sixth-grade classroom in the rear of the second floor.
Students were taken to a nearby bowling alley and a public library to await rides home, officials said.
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