Torch likely cause of fire at new school

Dayton firefighters were still on the scene at 8:50 a.m., but John Carr, the school district's construction chief, said the fire was believed to be contained to the roof area and was under control.

Staff photo by Ty Greenlees Dayton firefighters were still on the scene at 8:50 a.m., but John Carr, the school district's construction chief, said the fire was believed to be contained to the roof area and was under control.

Photos: School construction site burns

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A welder's torch may have sparked a fire at a school construction site at 4411 Oakridge Drive Ave., near Kammer, Hoover and Gettysburg avenues, a Dayton Public Schools official said the morning of Sept. 2, 2009.

Staff photo by Ty Greenlees A welder's torch may have sparked a fire at a school construction site at 4411 Oakridge Drive Ave., near Kammer, Hoover and Gettysburg avenues, a Dayton Public Schools official said the morning of Sept. 2, 2009.

By Anthony Gottschlich and Jeremy P. Kelley, Staff writers Updated 10:45 AM Wednesday, September 2, 2009

DAYTON — A welder’s torch may have sparked a fire at a school under construction at 4411 Oakridge Drive, near Hoover and Gettysburg avenues, a Dayton Public Schools official said this morning, Sept. 2.

Dayton Fire Department crews responded at 8:25 a.m. and found the fire contained to one section of the roof of the 72,000-square-foot building. Firefighters extinguished the blaze within an hour, and there were no injuries.

The school is the World of Wonder at Residence Park, which is scheduled to open in fall 2010 and will house students from pre-kindergarten through 8th grade. The exterior of the building is nearly complete, and DPS officials said there was little structural damage, as the blaze was contained to building materials.

John Carr, the school district’s construction chief, said the $13 million school on 10 acres is about 40 percent complete. He said contractors had begun their workday when the fire began.

“They tell me it was a stack of insulation (that caught fire),” Carr said. “They were installing insulation in preparation to put the roof on.”

World of Wonder at Residence Park is a conversion charter school that is part of Dayton Public Schools. The former building was knocked down, and the new building is being constructed on the same site.

During the construction process, the students have been attending the old Cornell Heights building on Campus Drive.

DPS officials said the construction project may suffer a one-week setback as the fire department conducts its investigation.

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