Middle school fire ruled accidental
District won't repair building on soon to be vacated campus
By SHANNON CRABTREE scrabtree@leader-news.com

The blaze which did significant damage to El Campo Middle School's Agricultural Science building has been ruled accidental.

An insurance adjuster for the school district was on site Monday to access damage to the structure, but students will never use the building again.

The MLK Boulevard campus currently used to educate sixth through eighth is set to be vacated in January in favor of the new FM 2765 campus.

It would be inappropriate to repair the building with only about 12 weeks of possible use left, Superintendent Mark Pool said Tuesday.

"Even the clean up would not be cost effective," he said. "We will just move in a portable storage unit and move everything out that is salvageable."

Until the move to the FM 2765 campus, the teacher and students will rotate through empty classrooms each period of the day.

Most of the instruction will be classroom, rather than hands on, although Pool said some outdoor projects could be done.

A good many items can be salvaged from the building, he added.

"A lot of the large equipment - table and band saws were on the east side of the building where there was the least amount of damage," Pool said. "A lot of hand tools can be cleaned up. We probably lost the welders. They were stored in a closet closest to fire."

Small electrical power tools will be replaced, he said, adding the district wasn't going to take the chance they got wet and were damaged.

El Campo firefighters were dispatched to the report of smoke rolling from the ECMS building around 11:30 p.m. Thursday.

The structure, well separated from the rest of the campus, suffered an estimated $75,000 damage in the blaze which is believed to be linked to chemically soaked gloves and sponges thrown into a plastic trash can.

Students had been using stain during class time Thursday, according to the police and investigation.

The building had been secured around 2:30 p.m. Thursday and there was no evidence of a break in.

"The police report was a precaution," El Campo Fire Chief Jimmy George Jr. said Tuesday.

After reviewing the scene and the evidence of the fire's path through the building, "we deemed it not incendiary; not an arson," the chief said.

"When rags are impregnated with petroleum products, they tend to spontaneously combust - they build up heat. We feel that caused the fire. Everything points to that," he added.

State Fire Marshal Chris Janssen was called to consult with local officials on the fire and its origin.

He agreed with the interpretation, Janssen said Tuesday.

"There is no evidence a crime has been committed. It's back into the fire department's hands," he said.

The fire department will release the scene to the district, George said.

The building is not usable without repairs, ECISD Maintenance Director Kevin Stehling said.