OXNARD : Attic Fire Forces School Evacuation

About 25 kindergarten-age children were evacuated from Lemonwood School in Oxnard on Tuesday after a plumber accidentally set fire to some insulation in an attic above a classroom, authorities said.

A teacher in the classroom below the area where the plumber was working told Oxnard firefighters she saw flames and smoke coming through the ceiling at about 2:35 p.m. and pulled the fire alarm, Fire Capt. George Todd said. There were no children in the classroom at the time.

The children who were evacuated were in an adjacent building on the campus, where classes were still in session, said Fire Investigator Brad Windsor.

Damage to the classroom ceiling and the attic was estimated at $1,000.

The plumber, whose name was not released, had been using a torch to solder some pipe and tried to put out the fire with an extinguisher.

“It came real close to burning that whole building down,” said Battalion Chief Terry McAnally. “If the classroom had been equipped with automatic sprinklers, there would have been no chance of” that happening.

After receiving the call, the Fire Department sent three engines, a ladder truck and 13 firefighters to the scene, Todd said.

The plumber suffered minor burns on his hands when he tried to throw the burning rolled fiberglass insulation out of the attic access door, but refused medical treatment, Todd said.

No other injuries were reported.