Probe: Fire that ruined LI school began in maintenance room

The cause of the fire that ripped through a West Babylon elementary school Thursday night remained under investigation Saturday, as firefighters pinpointed the origin of the blaze to a custodial and maintenance room.

West Babylon First Assistant Fire Chief Jim Campbell said the fire started in a room that houses the school's boiler, but that investigators have not concluded that the boiler was involved in sparking the fire.

"It was a shop," Campbell said of the work area. "Just a maintenance area."

There was no one inside South Bay Elementary when flames were reported just after 10:30 Thursday night. Firefighters were on the scene within five minutes, Campbell said.

The fire moved upward and entered the wood construction at the top of the 1950s-era school.

"The roof structure was wood plank and wood joist," Campbell said. "Wood sitting there since 1951 is dry. The fire got in there and just took off."

The blaze gutted the building, leaving very little that was salvageable. The fire does not appear to be suspicious, officials have said.

Meanwhile, West Babylon school officials have secured learning space for the more than 300 students displaced from the K-5 school.

Superintendent Anthony Cacciola announced in a statement that the district had made final its plans to use Our Lady of Grace Roman Catholic Church on Albin Avenue in West Babylon as temporary classroom space.

Teachers and administrators are scheduled to report to the building tomorrow morning to set up classrooms. Students are to return to class Tuesday, Cacciola said in a statement.

Students will be offered transportation to the temporary school, including students who walked to South Bay Elementary, Cacciola said.

The district will hold a forum for parents Sunday at 1 p.m. at West Babylon High School.

With Joie Tyrrell