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Florence cancels Friday classes, extracurricular activities resume

Posted at 8:30 PM, Sep 13, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-13 22:30:24-04

UPDATE

FLORENCE – Missoula Rural Fire District investigators say the cause of Florence School Thursday morning fire remains undetermined.

A maintenance employee was working on an electrical system nearby when the fire started in the locker room, according to Florence Schools Superintendent Bud Scully.

The employee contained the fire and used a fire extinguisher to put it out.

Some football equipment, personal items, and lockers were burned along with the ceiling. Football coaches removed the equipment to clean it Thursday and prepare it for a Friday game in Bozeman.

Two jerseys and a helmet were burned along with one student’s clothing that was in a locker.

The damage and clean up costs are estimated at $50,000, he said.

A company is on site to purify the air throughout that section of the school before classes begin again on Monday. Those areas include the cafeteria and middle and high school hallways that are directly above the locker room, Scully said.

School officials notified parents on Thursday evening that the middle school volleyball tournament that had been scheduled for Saturday has been canceled.

-information from Mark Thorsell included in this report


(first report)

FLORENCE – Students in the Florence Carlton School District will be getting another day off on Friday.

School officials have informed parents that classes will not resume on Friday after being canceled Thursday morning due to a small fire in a locker room.

However, all extracurricular activities will go ahead as planned on both Thursday and Friday.

School officials notified parents at around 7:45 a.m. Thursday that all classes were being called off after a small fire in a locker room.

There’s no word yet on what sparked the fire although the Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office says in a social media post that it was an electrical fire.

Florence Fire
Florence School Superintendent Bud Scully photo.