Fire Forces Evacuation at Fairgrounds Middle School

An electrical fire at Fairgrounds Middle School forced an evacuation Friday morning.

A box alarm sounded just after 8 a.m. bringing fire crews to the school at 27 Cleveland St. where a maintenance man met crews at the door  and explained that a light fixture had caught fire in Room 814.

Another custodian used a dry chemical extinguisher to put out the blaze, which was sparked in a long fixture in the ceiling.

Fire crews ventilated smoke from that wing of the building and isolated the problem to the ceiling fixture and wiring. 

The fire and chemical extinguisher created smoky conditions in the building, and students and teachers were evacuated for about an hour, said Deputy Chief Kevin Kerrigan.

"Students were planning a pep rally in the auditorium anyway, so we allowed them to reenter the building for that while we cleaned up in the aftermath," Kerrigan said.

Nashua Fire Marshal is investigating but the fire appears to be an electrical malfunction, Kerrigan said.