Statement from Mayor Paul Sarlo on today's fire incident at the Doyle School construction site.

At approximately 2:15 PM the Wood-Ridge Police Department received a call of a fire at the CE Doyle School from the contractor constructing the new addition. Upon arrival by the Wood-Ridge Fire Department it was reported that an incident occurred on the 2nd floor of the new construction. A temporary heater caught fire causing some minor damage to construction equipment and temporary scaffolding. The fire was extinguished by the on-site construction personnel which did result in a plume of smoke.

As a precautionary measure the adjacent Doyle school was immediately and safely evacuated by school personnel with all children being staged on Wood-Ridge Avenue, 12th Street, and 10th Street. Highland Ave was utilized by the emergency responders to bring water to the 2nd floor to wet the entire area and perform routine post-fire checks. All construction personnel were also safely evacuated from the building.

There is no damage to the structure under construction.

At approximately 2:55 PM after an exhaustive review by fire personnel of the existing school the building was cleared for the occupants to return to their classrooms to gather their belongings for dismissal. Parents were notified of the incident and were asked to come to the Wood-Ridge Ave entrances for dismissal. By approximately 3:45 PM all children were dismissed except those that participate in the after school program.

A report of a working fire near or at school automatically triggers a 2nd alarm which activates fire companies from our surrounding towns. As a further precaution, WR Fire Department activated a 3rd alarm to have additional fire assets and personnel stand by the Wood-Ridge Fire Department on Humboldt Street.

CE Doyle School will be open as scheduled tomorrow. The construction project will also resume work after a comprehensive safety review is conducted first thing in the morning. The Borough wants to thank all the fire, police, and construction personnel for their quick response and immediate actions. A very big thanks go to all the school personnel, teachers, administrators, nurses, and custodians for their professionalism, remaining calm, and safely getting the children out of school. And finally thank you to the children for remaining calm and cooperative and having amazing trust in their teachers.

Thank you, Wood-Ridge.

Wood-Ridge School District

NJSLS