Gravette School Fire Cancels Class for at Least Two Days

An early morning fire at Gravette`s Junior High School destroyed one classroom and left the entire district closed. The call came in around 6 AM Monday morning and fire fighters from 5 departments had the blaze under control within minutes. They were able to contain the flames to one social studies classroom. However that room is a total loss. Chuck Skaggs, Gravette Assistant Fire Chief: "Fire started in room 7, we believe its electrical in nature. It started in the southeast corner of the room and spread down a cabinet, some lockers were ignited." Heavey smoke filled both the junior high and the connecting high school. School officials say the conditions weren`t safe for any of the students. Curtis Spann, Superintendent Gravette Schools: "Until the air quality is clear, we won`t let the kids back in there." With the day off, 7th grader Robert James inspects the damage to Mrs. Morris` class. Robert James, Student: "Alot of our stuff just got burned up, alot of our history books, alot of the homework we were doing, projects and stuff." For now the classroom remains sealed, as school officials wait for a crew from Little Rock to check the air quality. Spann: "We`re probably going to move classes out of this building completely into some temporary space until this building can get cleaned up and cleared." School officials say temporary classes could be set up in the gymnasium. Classes for the entire Gravette district have been cancelled for Tuesday.