VO-TECH SCHOOL FIRE CLOSES CLASSES EARLY

An electrical short in an exhaust fan was blamed for a small fire at the Cape Girardeau Area Vocational-Technical School Thursday morning.

Students were allowed back inside the building at 301 N. Clark about an hour after the incident, which occurred at about 10:15 a.m.

Classes were dismissed for the day soon afterwards. Only a half-day of school was scheduled, so teachers could attend professional development training programs during the afternoon.

School director Harold Tilley said no one was injured in the fire. The incident occurred while students in an auto collision class paint booth were preparing to paint a door.

"It appears there may have been a short in an exhaust motor," Tilley said. "The teachers reacted very promptly and flipped the fire alarm. We were able to get everybody out of the building and at the same time call the fire department."

Students gathered with their classes outside of the building while firefighters contained the fire to the paint booth. Only the paint booth, exhaust fan and a portion of the roof were damaged by the fire, although a portion of the auto collision classroom and hallway received smoke and water damage.

"Someone joked that we were trying to get into our new building a little early," Tilley said.