A piece of clothing passing through a print screening dryer caught fire Friday, forcing the evacuation of a section of the Foster Career and Technical Education Center on the Mt. Blue Campus.
Farmington Fire Rescue Chief Tim “TD” Hardy said a teacher used an extinguisher to put out the fire, which was ruled accidental. There were no injuries.
The second-floor classroom of B-wing was evacuated and firefighters answering the 8:43 a.m. call at 129 Seamon Road ventilated the space to remove smoke, he said.
Some classes were relocated to other parts of the building but school went on as usual, Superintendent Christian Elkington said. Families were notified of the situation.
An investigator from the Maine Office of State Fire Marshal determined all emergency procedures were followed.
Hardy said the dryer is off limits to students while officials check with the manufacturer to see if or when it is safe to use.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less