UPDATE: Police Investigating Fire at Rockridge Middle School as Arson

UPDATE at 8:35 p.m.:

Classes will resume at a Rockridge middle school in Oakland where a suspected arson fire overnight left the cafeteria unusable. The cafeteria in Claremont Middle School was heavily damaged in a two-alarm fire reported at 1:49 a.m., fire officials said.

The school is located at 5750 College Ave., near the Rockridge BART station. Firefighters arrived quickly from the station next to the school and contained the fire to the cafeteria, according to the fire department. It was under control at 3:10 a.m. There were signs of forced entry to the building, Oakland Unified School District spokesman Troy Flint said this morning.

Police are investigating the fire as a possible arson. While there was no structural damage to the school, the cafeteria was totally destroyed, Flint said.

“It’s not going to be usable anytime soon,” he said. Oakland fire Battalion Chief Geoff Hunter estimated the damage at $1 million. While school was closed today for Presidents Day, the school district inspected the utilities and determined there was no damage to the electric system or running water, Flint said. With no damage to the utilities, the school will reopen normally Tuesday, according to Flint.

For the rest of this week, lunch will be served in brown bags prepared off-site and brought to the campus, Flint said. Starting next Monday, the district plans to cook hot meals at a temporary kitchen on the campus where they will prepare food transported from the kitchen at Oakland High School, Flint said. No firefighters or civilians were injured in the blaze.

UPDATE:

Crews are still inspecting an Oakland middle school to determine whether a suspected arson fire overnight damaged the school’s utilities, a schools spokesman said. The cafeteria in Claremont Middle School was heavily damaged in a two-alarm fire reported at 1:49 a.m., fire officials said.

The school is located at 5750 College Ave., near the Rockridge BART station. Firefighters arrived quickly from the station next to the school and contained the fire to the cafeteria, according to the fire department. It was under control at 3:10 a.m. There were signs of forced entry to the building, Oakland Unified School District spokesman Troy Flint said this morning. Police are investigating the fire as a possible arson. While there was no structural damage to the school, the cafeteria was totally destroyed, Flint said.

“It’s not going to be usable anytime soon,” he said. Oakland fire Battalion Chief Geoff Hunter estimated the damage at $1 million. While school is closed today for President’s Day, the school district is still determining whether the middle school will be able to open Tuesday, Flint said. Crews are checking if there was any damage to the school’s electric system or running water.

If the utilities are undamaged, the school will likely open normally Tuesday and provide brown bag lunches in lieu of hot lunches. A portable unit equipped with a kitchen could be brought to the school as soon as next Monday and the school could resume serving hot lunches, Flint said. No firefighters or civilians were injured in the blaze.

Original story:

Police are investigating a fire that caused major damage to the cafeteria of an Oakland middle school this morning as arson. The two-alarm fire at Claremont Middle School at 5750 College Ave., near the Rockridge BART Station, was reported at 1:49 a.m., fire officials said.

The first units on the scene came from the fire station next to the school. A second alarm was called at about 2:20 a.m. and firefighters had extinguished the fire at about 3:10 a.m. Fire crews contained the fire to the school cafeteria.

The fire caused an estimated $1 million in damage, Battalion Chief Geoff Hunter said. Hunter said crews found an exterior door open at the school, which he said is unusual. Police said this morning that an arson investigator responded to look into the possibility the fire was intentionally set. Police have no suspects so far. Neither firefighters nor civilians were injured in the blaze.

By Bay City News

Photo via Shutterstock

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