Fire at elementary school in Richland County forces early dismissal for students
Students at an elementary school in Richland County were sent home early Monday following a fire at the building.
Early dismissal was needed at Jackson Creek Elementary in Columbia after there was a fire in a second-floor bathroom, said Libby Roof, spokeswoman for the Richland 2 school district.
The building was quickly evacuated, and the fire in the communal bathroom was extinguished, Roof said in a news release.
No one was injured, and students and employees were able to return to the building at 7150 Trenholm Road Ext., according to the release.
But smoke caused by the fire made the second floor of the school unusable. Moving all of the students to the first floor would make it impossible to ensure proper COVID-19 social distancing mandates, Roof said.
Because of that, students were dismissed at 11:30 a.m., according to the release. Additionally, there will not be after-school care Monday.
Information on the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage was not made available. Messages left with the Columbia Fire Department were not immediately returned.
There was no word on how the smoke will be cleared or when students, teachers and staff can return to the second floor of the school.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
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This story was originally published December 7, 2020 at 11:39 AM.
