Fireworks suspected cause in 2-alarm fire at Whatcom school, but damage limited

A two-alarm fire at Acme Elementary believed to be started by Fourth of July fireworks didn’t turn out as serious as initially expected.

Whatcom County Fire District 16 crews were called at 8:10 p.m. Monday, July 4, to the school in the 5200 block of Turkington Road for the report of the structure fire, according to the PulsePoint app.

While in route, Chief Hank Maleng said he called for a second alarm, because initial reports were that the fire was on the wooden roof of the old school building that opened in the 1930s and a shortage of available hydrants in the area.

“That was enough to kick my blood pressure up over 300,” Maleng said.

When Maleng and the first units arrived at the school, they soon found that the fire was not on the old wooden roof, but instead around the play area and the metal equipment there.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire with just one engine, Maleng said, and they stayed about one hour to make sure it didn’t reignite.

The cause of the fire, Maleng said, is believed to be fireworks, as spent fireworks carcasses were found in the area and witnesses reported seeing people in the area at the time. The incident has been forwarded to the Whatcom County Fire Marshal’s Office for investigation.

“We’ve done some training up there after the Fourth in past years, and we’ve found old bottle rockets up there on the roof,” Maleng said. “It’s like — come on people, I know you want to have fun and all, and I’m all for that, but do it in a safe matter. You gotta know where those things are going.”

Maleng reported the area “was pretty lit up and loud” with numerous fireworks shot off in the area, as normal, but he said the call load wasn’t unreasonably high, though aid did respond to the report of a child that burned his or her hand after touching a firework carcass that hadn’t fully cooled.