6 Idaho FFs treated for heat-related injuries after fire at vacant school

Jacob Scholl
The Idaho Statesman

Two construction workers were treated for minor injuries and six firefighters suffered heat-related injuries after a large fire broke out at an old elementary school that is set to be demolished in Boise.

The Boise Fire Department said in a tweet that fire crews were called out to the old Valley View Elementary School at 9:39 a.m., and three ladder trucks and 10 engines were at the scene.

According to a tweet from the Boise School District, the elementary school caught fire Monday morning. The school is located at 3555 N. Milwaukee Street. All school personnel are safe and accounted for, the district said.

The elementary school is set to be torn down and replaced with a new building on the same plot of land.

Aaron Hummel, a division chief for the Boise Fire Department, said in a video Monday from BFD that the building was slated for demolition later this week, and the building was extensively damaged in the fire. He said fire officials don’t know how the fire began, and the fire could be smoldering for hours while crews continue to extinguish the building.

Firefighters worked to prevent the fire from spreading to the new school being built behind it, according to Hummel. The fire did not spread to any nearby structures.

He added that those who live near the building have been warned to avoid the noxious smoke coming from the school, as he described the smoke as “kind of a chemical cocktail.”

School was not in session when the fire began, as Boise schools left for summer break in late May.

BFD also said in a tweet there were two construction workers who were treated for minor injuries at the scene by paramedics.

Six firefighters were treated for heat-related injuries. Two of the six firefighters were taken to the hospital for further treatment, and one has since been released, according to a news release from BFD.

Smoke from the fire could be seen throughout Boise and the Treasure Valley.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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(c)2021 The Idaho Statesman (Boise, Idaho)

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