Small Electrical Fire Briefly Evacuates RHS

The start of the school day Monday at Ridgewood High School was delayed briefly while firefighters extinguished a small early morning fire.

Firefighters responded to the school around 7:30 a.m., shortly before the start of classes, and located a small electrical fire in a heating unit in a second floor classroom, Fire Chief Jim Van Goor said.

A ventilator in the unit had overheated and let off smoke, prompting a teacher to pull a fire alarm, according to Superintendent Dan Fishbein.

“The building was evacuated in an orderly and timely manner,” he said. Repairs to the unit were underway Monday morning, he added.

Students were cleared from the building for roughly 45 minutes while the department worked with fire extinguishers and used fans to clear the room of smoke, according to fire officials.

Firefighters were able to contain the smoke to one room, the fire chief said. No injuries were reported.