CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As of late Friday, no charges had been filed after a fire was intentionally set in the bathroom at Walter G. Byers School in north Charlotte.
It happened around 9 a.m. in a middle school bathroom. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials said a liquid of some kind was thrown on the floor and ignited. One hallway filled with smoke, and the entire school, kindergarten through eighth grade, was evacuated.
Charlotte firefighters said school staff had already put it out before they arrived, but they sent in crews to ventilate the halls, opening doors and using large fans.
CMS told reporters they sent students home on the advice of firefighters, who had concerns about lingering smoke and smoke damage in the halls.
"We listened to what the experts told us," said Denise Watts, with CMS. "We expect school to be opened again on Monday."
Some parents were frantic to get a call that there was a fire at their child's school. Only later did many of them learn that fire was set on purpose.
Tracy Rivera came to pick up his 8-year-old son, Devail, at 11 a.m. He had no idea the fire was intentionally set until Channel 9 told him. The message from CMS just said there was a fire.
“To hear that that happened here is just shocking. I really like this school," Rivera said.
Other parents, like Gadhi Hassan, got an automated phone message from Byers and just drove there.
“I didn't know what was happening. They said to come pick up your kids, so that's what I did." he said.
All 525 students were dismissed. Many were held until parents could make arrangements to pick them up.
Chief investigator Paul Wilkinson, with the Charlotte Fire Department, said damage was $3,000 to $4,000 and was contained to the bathroom. He would not reveal what actually burned.
"We don't want to get into those details, because only the fire investigator and the person who set the fire knows those certain things, and we don't want to release that yet," he said.
Watts said for a real situation that was not a drill, it went off perfectly and orderly.
"We practice for this once a month, and everyone knew what to do," she said.
CMS said maintenance crews will make the needed repairs over the weekend, and students will be back in class Monday.
Below is the message being sent to families at Walter G. Byers School:
Good morning Byers families, this is Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools communications department with an extremely important message. This morning there was a fire in a bathroom at the school. All students and staff are safe and have been evacuated from the school building. No students will return to the school building today. We are instituting a dismissal process. Your child’s teacher will call you to discuss dismissal options for your child. You can pick up your elementary student at the school bus lot or your middle school student at Charlotte Greenville Center located at 1330 Spring Street. Please have your identification ready to present. You can also have your child take district transportation home. Again all students and staff are safe and have been evacuated from the school building. If you have not yet been contacted by your child’s teacher, you may call the school front office at 980-343-6940 to provide your dismissal preference. Please understand that phone lines may be busy when you call, so please be patient. The safety of our students is our top priority and no child will be sent home on a bus until the parent or caregiver has been contacted. Thank you.
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