Simultaneous high school fires under investigation

MONROE — No one was injured in two minor fires that were set at Monroe Township High School yesterday.

The fires, both considered suspicious, took place around 11:19 a.m. and resulted in the evacuation of the high school while police and firefighters responded to the scene.

One fire was reported in the girls’ bathroom on the northern end of the school, where someone set a trash receptacle on fire, according to police. The fire was extinguished by a security officer at the school.

The second fire took place on the second floor near a stairwell on the southern end of the school, where someone set a jacket on fire. Those flames were put out by school personnel, police said.

Police said the school sustained minimal damage in the events, which are being investigated by Monroe police, school officials and a township fire inspector.

Police said no further information on the fires was being released last night, and school Business Administrator Wayne Holliday said he could not discuss the events or the damage at the school because of the ongoing investigation. Board of Education member Joseph Homoki said he did not know of any further details regarding the fire.

Holliday said fire officials announced shortly after their arrival that the building was safe for students to return. He estimated the evacuation lasted less than a half hour.