Photo by Ben Baker

Fire Causes Extensive Damage At Midland City Elementary School

A fire broke out Friday night at Midland City Elementary School.

Dale County Superintendent Ben Baker says the school’s fire detection system alerted at 6:30 p.m, automatically dispatching the Midland City Fire Department to the school.

Midland City Fire Department Chief Bert Chandler says firefighters were en route to the school when a passerby called in to dispatch reporting visible flames and smoke from the building. When firefighters arrived on scene, they found an active fire in the kindergarten wing of the school.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze within minutes. A Pre-K classroom suffered extensive damage. “That classroom is a total loss,” says Baker. “Three other classrooms have smoke and water damage, and we may have some smoke damage throughout the building.”

Chandler says they have not identified a cause for the fire at this time. Asked about reports that the fire was caused by a faulty A/C unit, he says “That’s a possibility, but we don’t have a definite cause at this time.”

“I’m just thankful nobody was hurt and no one from the fire department was hurt,” says Baker. “There was nobody on campus. The good thing is our equipment works and our alarm went off and automatically dispatched the fire department.”

“We’ve started the cleanup process,” says Baker, “We’re so thankful for the Midland City Fire Department. Their quick professional response saved our school.”

No one was in the building when the fire started. No injuries were reported among the responding firefighters.

Reached by phone Saturday morning, Baker says Premier CarpetCare of Ozark, who also provides fire recovery services, began cleanup within hours of firefighters clearing the building. "They're working 24 hours around the clock to get us back in order," says Baker.

Midland City Elementary was closed Monday and Tuesday for a full inspection by architects, engineers, HVAC specialists, and Harris Security to make sure that all systems were operational and safe for the school to reopen.

"I'm just so thankful for the outpouring of community support. AllIn Credit Union has already provided us a $5,000 donation to aid the recovery efforts," says Baker. "Ariton High, Newton Elementary, and South Dale Middle School have adopted our Pre-K program to help them replace all the instructional supplies that were lost. G.W. Long High, Long Elementary, and Dale County High have adopted our kindergarten program."

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