After having ruled out all possible accidental causes for a fire that gutted a prop room at Bayonne High School in June, Deputy Fire Chief Joe Coughlin has turned the investigation over to the Bayonne Police Department to investigate further.
“Once our investigators looking into the cause and origin of a fire rule out any accidental explanation, we turn it over to the fire department and that’s what Deputy Chief Joe Coughlin has done,” said Fire Director Pat Boyle.
On June 9 witnesses reported seeing smoke billowing out of vents along 30th Street near Avenue A. The two-alarm fire gutted a prop room just off the high school auditorium, sending smoke billowing out vents and doorways on two sides of the Annex Building. Although the fire took only 15 minutes to extinguish, fire investigators have spent the month since looking into possible causes.
Coughlin said the room contained paint, cardboard, wood and other items that normally went into prop preparation, most of it flammable, and according to Coughlin to blew out a two-story window on the 30th Street side of the building, as well as caused damage to wiring that apparently went through the room. While other areas of the building suffered water and smoke damage, Coughlin said substantive concrete construction of the room kept the fire from spreading.
Students, however, had to evacuate the building, and though some were let back into classes later in the day, all were dismissed in the afternoon.
The annex building was cleaned up within a day and most of the building was ready to be used, although the rooms had to be aired out because of smoke, said Schools Superintendent Dr. Patricia McGeehan
Police Director Smith said the Police Department is taking the matter very seriously.
“Someone may have put students in harms way,” Smith said. “That’s not to mention the teachers and other workers that were also endangered. We are going to find the answers.”
Smith said the Bayonne Police Department has detectives that are specially trained in fire and arson investigation.
“We also have the county arson department if we need it or additional resources,” he said. “Right now we’re doing this in house.”
These police detectives, Smith said, began a series of interviews with students, building staff, teachers and others who might be able to help them discover additional information about the cause of the fire.
“As with any investigation, we are interviewing people, looking for time lines of people who might have been in the area at the time. This includes staff, custodial workers, teachers and students. We are canvassing anyone that was in area.”
Smith said this process might be slowed somewhat by the fact that school is out and some potential witnesses may be on vacation.
“But this is something we can overcome,” he said. “It’ll just make the process a little more cumbersome.”
Smith said more students will be questioned shortly and he hopes that students in the area at the time the fire broke out might have seen something that can give police a clue as to what happened or where the police might seek additional information
Smith said that anyone with information is asked to call the Bayonne Police Department’s detective bureau at (201) 858-6925. All calls will be kept confidential, Smith said.