A fire at the Academies of Loudoun in Leesburg caused $1 million in damage and started accidentally in a welding classroom, the Loudoun County Fire and Rescue Fire Marshal’s Office said.
“Students had been welding and grinding earlier in the day, during which debris or a spark got into the hopper and started a fire” in the classroom’s fume extraction system, a news release from the fire marshal said.
Someone at the school pulled the fire alarm, and the alarm company alerted 911 at 1 p.m. on Tuesday. A school resource officer found heavy smoke in the boiler room, and dispatchers sent multiple fire companies to the scene. Before firefighters got on the scene, the building was evacuated. No students sustained injury.
Heavy smoke poured from the rear of the building as firefighters found where the fire started. It took nearly an hour to put out the blaze, and then the building had to be ventilated.
The fire marshal said units from Leesburg, Ashburn, Lansdowne, Moorefield, Kincora, Philomont, and Sterling responded, along with units from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Fairfax County, and a number of command officers.
A firefighter and another adult sustained minor injuries and were taken to the hospital.
The fire marshal’s office says the alarm and sprinkler system worked properly.
Feature image of the Academies of Loudoun fire courtesy Loudoun County Fire and Rescue Fire Marshal’s Office
For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine’s News newsletter.
