Small Trash-Can Fire Evacuates Junior High

A small fire in a classroom trash can forced Wappingers Junior High School to evacuate Tuesday and send students home early. (wpdh.com) Wappingers Central School District said the fire was reported around 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21, inside a technology education classroom at the school on Major Macdonald Way in Wappingers Falls. (wpdh.com, wjhs.wappingersschools.org) District officials said Principal Terrence Thompson was alerted to the fire in a trash receptacle, and smoke and odor from the incident set off the fire alarm and cleared the building. (wpdh.com, wjhs.wappingersschools.org) Firefighters from the Hughsonville and New Hackensack departments responded and extinguished the fire, while the district canceled after-school activities for the day. (wpdh.com, hfd45.org, nkfd.org) The school kept students out for the rest of Tuesday because the fire and cleanup left a strong smell in the building, even after the flames were out. (wpdh.com) The district said crews were airing out the building Tuesday and expected normal classes to resume Wednesday morning. Students who needed to retrieve belongings were allowed back inside between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Tuesday. (wpdh.com) Wappingers Junior High lists a full-time school resource officer from the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office and a school safety officer, part of a broader safety setup that coordinates with local emergency services. (wjhs.wappingersschools.org) The school, which says its campus has served the community for 85 years, returned to a familiar routine after a day that turned on a single trash can and the smoke it sent through the halls. (wjhs.wappingersschools.org, wpdh.com)