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Fire at Local Elementary School Ruled ArsonSAN DIEGO -- Classes at a University Heights elementary school were called off Tuesday after an intentionally-set fire did hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to two buildings, district and fire officials said. Investigators found a chemical accelerant poured inside one of the rooms at Alice Birney Elementary and say the fire was "definitely arson," San Diego Fire spokesperson Maurice Luque said. Most of the damage was in the kitchen area, with some heavy smoke damage in the adjacent auditorium, Battalion Chief John Fisher said. The flames did about $600,000 damage to the structures and contents inside, Luque estimated. The "Birney Buddies" room connected to the kitchen was also badly damaged, Principal Amanda Hammond-Williams said. The newly furnished room was designed for children with learning disabilities, and paid for with an early mental health initiative grant, she said. District officials were still waiting for final approval to reopen the school from construction crews and the utility, but Superintendent Bill Kowba told San Diego 6 he's "confident" classes will resume Wednesday as scheduled after touring the damage. Parents will be notified by phone and email, hopefully by the end of the business day Tuesday, Hammond-Williams said. Fire investigators said there was no evidence to connect the fire at the elementary school with several other arson fires in University Heights in recent weeks, including three arson attacks at a nearby Jehovah's Witnesses Congregation Hall, "but we're not ruling it out," said Luque. Authorities say a carport fire at an apartment building January 10 in the 4000 block of Cleveland Avenue was also intentionally set using gasoline. The fires at the Jehovah's Witnesses Congregation Hall were set with gasoline and matches, arson investigators said at the time. Luque declined to say Tuesday if the accelerant found inside the elementary school was gasoline, but noted the smell of the liquid stood out from the smoke and ash. |
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