Westbury Middle School fire leaves behind smoke, water damage, official says

An early morning fire at Westbury Middle School left smoke and water damage in the school basement and the stench of smoke throughout the building, a Westbury Fire Department official said. The district closed the school Monday and went to remote learning, according to Superintendent Tahira Dupree Chase.

Out of an abundance of caution due to the damage, the district will continue remote instruction for Tuesday.

Westbury Fire public information officer Kenneth Gass said firefighters from six departments responded to the 2:50 a.m. fire in a basement storage room of the Rockland Street school, knocking the fire down in about an hour.

It was basically contained “where it started,” he said, with smoke and water damage in the immediate vicinity but the smoke’s odor pervasive throughout the school.

Nassau police said there was no structural damage.

Westbury school district officials distributed Google Chromebooks with portable Wi-Fi cards for remote learning through Google classroom.

Dupree Chase said parts of the school had be closed Monday due to an electrical issue, causing power outages and fire activity.

The district also provided breakfast and hot lunch to all middle school students, using school buses to deliver food Monday morning and Monday afternoon, with reheating instructions. Food was also available at elementary schools Monday morning though Monday afternoon.

It was unclear what material had burned in the storage room, and the Nassau County Fire Marshal’s office was investigating the cause of the fire, Gass said.

In addition to Westbury, responding departments included Carle Place, Hicksville, Bethpage, Mineola and Jericho, he said.

Check back for updates on this developing story.