Sandhills_Sentinel

A structure fire Saturday morning at West Pine Middle School completely destroyed a classroom. The school, located on Hwy 211 between Pinehurst and West End, was closed at the time, and no one was in the building.  The fire was paged just after 8 a.m. when a passerby noticed the smoke coming from the school.

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The cause of the fire to classroom 33 remains under investigation at this time.

When the first units arrived on the scene, there was heavy smoke and fire in a separate classroom building on the back side of the school.  The classroom, numbered 33, was a complete loss. Due to the quick response and actions of the firefighters, no other buildings were damaged.

The stand-alone classrooms do not have fire alarm systems like the main buildings, so it was fortunate that someone saw the smoke.  Fire crews responded from numerous agencies, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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The school was closed at the time the blaze broke out.

Moore County Schools made a statement about the fire Monday on their Facebook page.

“Moore County Schools would like to say thank you to the first responders that included multiple branches of the fire department, the Moore County Sheriff’s Department as well as Moore County Schools Police Department, including Captain Ronald Hardy and Officer Henry Shamburger.

“The district is also fortunate to have dedicated maintenance professionals who reported to the scene on Saturday morning, including Director for Maintenance Bradley Garner, Electrician/Tech I Todd Moore, Electrician/HVAC Supervisor Matthew Sewell and Carpentry Supervisor Jeff Robbins. 

“The official cause of the fire will not be released until the Fire Marshal’s report that should be forthcoming in the coming days. Foul play is not suspected.”

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