Hundreds Flee Blaze at N.J. School
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PATERSON, N.J. — Fire broke out Friday in an elementary school here, but the hundreds of students and teachers inside escaped unharmed after the principal ran through the halls giving a warning, officials and students said.
Fire Department dispatcher Bob Savage said the fire at Public School No. 9 was reported at 9:16 a.m. and spread quickly throughout the building.
The principal ran through the halls alerting students and staff before the fire alarm went off, said eighth-grade student Phillip Anzio as he stood outside, shivering in sub-freezing cold.
The city’s entire force of firefighters was called out as flames shot through the school’s roof, officials said.
Fire Capt. Arthur Manzo said the fire started in a cloakroom of a sixth-grade classroom in the rear of the second floor.
Students were taken to a nearby bowling alley and a public library to await rides home, officials said.
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