On May 31, St. Regis School experienced a small fire when a trash can caught fire in the little boy’s bathroom in the elementary wing. The school’s fire alarm went off around 3 p.m. and fourth grade teacher, Laura Jarvis located the fire and put it out with a fire extinguisher.

The school was evacuated and the fire department arrived and checked the area and aired out the school. Classes then resumed and the elementary students remained outside for the last 20 minutes of the day. School superintendent, Joe Steele said they suspect some of elementary boys were playing with matches and set a roll of toilet paper on fire. It appears it smoldered in the trash can for a while because there were reports of a burning smell after lunch. The plastic trash can had a hole burned into it and the plastic liner was burned as a result of the fire.

“Luckily that’s all that burned,” Steele said.

Some students were questioned but no one was charged with the vandalism due to lack of evidence.

“We hope that it’s a lesson learned and they understand the severity of their actions and that playing with matches is not a good idea, they are not a toy,” he said.

The investigation has been dropped but there will be additional safety instructions discussed next fall with the classes.