Fire cancels classes at Baldwin elementary school

A fire in a wood-frame annex of a Baldwin elementary school caused "considerable" damage Thursday morning and canceled classes for the day, fire officials said.

Though the cause of the fire at Schubert Elementary School on DeMott Avenue remains under investigation, it is not considered suspicious, Nassau County Fire Marshal's Office spokesman Vincent McManus said.

McManus said post-fire air quality tests performed on the wood-frame annex, built in the 1980s, showed no hazardous materials. But classes were canceled because of a smoke odor lingering in the building, McManus said. They are scheduled to resume on Friday.

About 150 students in kindergarten through fifth grade attend the school. McManus said the annex was used as a lunchroom and music room.

The fire set off an automatic alarm at 6:57 a.m. A school custodian, who had just entered the building when the alarm sounded, was the only person present and was not injured, McManus said.

Volunteers from Baldwin, Oceanside and Freeport were dispatched to the fire.