The West Hartford Fire Department said the blaze occurred in a second floor bathroom.

Photo credit: Ronni Newton

By Ronni Newton

Students at West Hartford’s Conard High School were evacuated for nearly 30 minutes Monday morning in response to a small fire that occurred in a second floor boy’s bathroom. The fire started at approximately 11:20 a.m.

West Hartford Fire Department Battalion Chief William Kall said that when firefighters arrived on the scene the fire had already been extinguished by a custodian who had poured water on it.

Kall said that the only damage was to the trash receptacle and its contents – paper towels and a plastic bag. Kall said that he doesn’t know exactly how the fire was started, but West Hartford’s fire marshal, Assistant Chief Mike Sinsigalli, and the West Hartford Police Department are continuing to investigate.

Conard High School Principal Julio Duarte sent home a message to all Conard families Monday afternoon informing them about the incident.

“After the fire department properly ventilated the building, they worked with the Conard Administrative team to ensure the safety of all students and issued the, ‘ALL CLEAR!’ declaration meaning that it was safe to re-enter the building. In total students remained outside for a total of 28 minutes,” Duarte wrote in the letter.

Students resumed the remainder of the day on a modified class schedule, Duarte said.

“Please know that I will be working closely with the West Hartford Police Department to find the person responsible for this. As I work to identify and hold these individuals accountable for their actions, I encourage you to speak with your child regarding this event,” Duarte wrote.

Duarte asked anyone who has additional information to contact him.

“Know that the safety of all of our students is of the utmost importance to me and the rest of the staff. As a final note, I want to point out how proud I am of how both our students and staff responded during this incident,” wrote Duarte.

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