By Chloe Forbes
The Meadville Tribune
SPARTANSBURG, Pa. — Three children were flown from the scene of a fire Friday morning when a two-story Amish school caught fire and collapsed.
Spartansburg Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched around 9:30 a.m. after a local resident called 911 for a fire at Hidden Valley School, 25983 N. Byler Road. On arrival, Chief Chris Hughes said that the building was fully collapsed and students already had moved to a nearby building.
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There were 12 to 15 children evacuated with no injuries. There were three burn victims — the school’s teacher, who is a teenager, suffered less severe burns while two younger students are reported to have worse burns.
Volunteer fire departments from Bloomfield Township, Centerville, Elgin, Union City and Townville assisted along with Corry Fire Department and Meadville Central Fire and Ambulance.
Three medEvac helicopters landed at Clear Lake Lumber’s log yard in Spartansburg thanks to the owner opening it for landing. One victim was flown to UPMC Pittsburgh and the other two were flown to Golisano Children’s Hospital of Buffalo.
The Corry Journal first broke the story and reported that the two-story building was a complete loss and that no surrounding buildings were affected. Hughes said that the fire originated inside the school and is believed to be caused by using the wrong oil to start the school’s stove.
The fire was reported to be under control within an hour, but the call was not closed completely until 3 p.m.
Pennsylvania State Police said that the incident remains an active investigation being conducted by state police with assistance from the PSP Fire Marshals.
resilience and decision-making when critical infrastructure fails
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