A fire at Cochrane High School (CHS) forced students to be evacuated to Manachaban Middle School and the Cochrane Arena Dec. 19.
Cochrane Fire and RCMP responded to the catalogue alarm at the school after a fire in a school washroom tripped the alarm at 10:43 a.m.
“There was considerable smoke damage to the school,” said Cochrane Fire Chief Mac deBeaudrap.
Cochrane Fire crews worked quickly to extinguish the blaze said deBeaudrap.
Unsure how or why the fire started, RCMP locked down the school perimeter, and as the investigation continued, deBeaudrap said the fire was definitely suspicious and an investigation would be ongoing.
“(We had) security in place and all students were evacuated to the surrounding schools and the arena,” he told the Cochrane Eagle.
A confidential source to the Eagle said it was believed the fire started in a washroom, inside a trash bin, near the front of the school.
“I can confirm the fire started in one of the washrooms. The fire is confirmed to be suspicious and is under investigation,” deBeaudrap said.
No injuries were reported as a result of the incident.
