Fire scorches laboratory of Fullerton school; after-school participants evacuated

Teachers evacuated students from a Fullerton elementary school after spotting smoke in a lab that caught fire Wednesday, Jan. 22.

The fire broke out at Laguna Road Elementary School, 300 W. Laguna Rd., at about 3: 20 p.m., Fullerton/Brea Fire Department Division Chief Kathy Schaefer said. Faculty who saw smoke billowing inside an unoccupied science lab immediately notified authorities and escorted students away from the area.

“They shut the door to the lab and evacuated, which was excellent,” Schaeffer said. “That likely helped limit the spread of the fire.”

Classes were not in session at the time, but an after-school program was in progress at the time the fire was reported, Schaefer said. There were less than 30 students on campus and several faculty members, none of whom were injured.

Smoke was visible from the street when the first crews arrived to douse the burning structure, Schaefer said. About 40 firefighters from the Fullerton, Anaheim and Los Angeles County Fire Departments responded, and the fire was extinguished at about 3:52 p.m.

The fire scorched the 30-square-foot lab it originated in and part of an adjacent library, Schaefer said. However, it did not spread further, and most classes will proceed as scheduled on Thursday.

The cause of the blaze remained unclear Wednesday evening, Schaefer said. Investigators had just started to examine the damage at about 4 p.m.