The Independent

St. Clair District Catholic School Board officials say about $80,000 was done in a fire at St. John Fisher School.

Students at the Forest school were evacuated Friday around 1 pm after a small fire in a kitchenette in the school. Firefighters used a dry chemical powder to extinguish the flames.

The material covered the affected area, the classroom doors were closed, so only a small amount of the material affected the rooms. But the heavy smoke from the fire required all the classrooms and the contents including student backpacks, coats, footwear and other clothing, were cleaned to remove smoke odours and any residue.

Board officials say the kitchenette is blocked off until repairs can be completed. And all smoke detectors, fire suppression systems and alerting equipment were reinstalled or replaced and tested.

About 35 people from three different restoration companies cleaned up the mess left behind. It appears the fire caused about $80,000 of damage, most of which will be covered by insurance, board officials added.