A fire at Lafayette High School on Feb. 5 resulted in disciplinary action from the
school and legal charges from the school district, in addition to a re-evaluation of safety
precautions.
Tanner Marquis | The Daily Mississippian
Lafayette High School
A student started a fire in a bathroom of the English hall at Lafayette High School (LHS) on Feb. 5 that “appeared to be intentional,” according to LHS principal Patrick Robinson.
The school has delivered disciplinary action and has filed legal charges since the incident.
“For the juvenile’s privacy, I can’t go into what those measures are, but disciplinary action has been taken for that student,” Robinson said.
The school board has also filed fourth-degree arson charges against the student. The student acted alone, and the school board has found no motivation for starting the fire.
Robinson said the fire originated in a trash can and burned plastic and other materials that created a heavy, black smoke. The fire in the bathroom and the resulting smoke damaged much of the English hall, but the biggest problem was ridding the air and heating system duct works of smoke, said Robinson.
The damage compounded with the smell of the burned plastic forced the school to shut down the English hall for the rest of the week.
“Our teachers had to be displaced to other classrooms throughout the week,” Robinson said.
LHS is architecturally divided into three main halls: English, Math and Science, a layout that made closing the English hall more difficult for faculty and students.
Extinguishing the fire began with the teacher whose classroom neighbors the bathroom where the fire started. Robinson said that this teacher reported the fire to the main office, and the Oxford Fire Department arrived within minutes.
Robinson said that a school resource officer put the fire out with a fire extinguisher.
The fire investigators do not know the exact cause of the fire, but no one was harmed. Robinson attributed the safety success to the school’s policy regarding fire safety.
“We’re pretty regular on our fire drills anyway, so we were able to evacuate the building rather quickly,” Robinson said.
“The teachers did a great job of evacuating the building and making sure everyone was safely out of the building.”
Many students in other parts of the school thought that the evacuation was a routine drill. Despite efficient drills in the past, Robinson said that the process forced administrators to take a closer look at the fire evacuation process.
Robinson said that minor changes are being discussed, including methods of recording attendance once everyone is out of the buildings.
“It’s always good to improve what you’ve got,“ Robinson said.
