BROCKTON, MASS. (WHDH) - A laptop caught fire in Brockton High School Friday, prompting an evacuation and drawing an emergency response to the school.
Brockton fire officials said the fire happened near 10:15 a.m. in Brockton High School’s core building.
By the time firefighters arrived, the building was already evacuated, officials said. Brockton school resource officers also responded and put out the fire before firefighters got to the scene.
Brockton High School enrolls 3,586 students, according to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
A Brockton Public Schools spokesperson in a statement said the laptop that caught fire was a district-issued computer. There were no reported injuries.
The spokesperson said Brockton’s technical services department responded to the high school after the fire and will conduct spot checks on other district equipment “as a precautionary and preventive measure.”
“We are grateful for the quick actions of school police in extinguishing this fire and ensuring student and staff safety,” the spokesperson said. “We also appreciate the efforts of the Brockton Fire Department, which utilized special equipment meant for remediating lithium-ion battery fires to make the area safe after this incident.”
Officials shared photos of the charred laptop. The device was four years old and was not plugged in when it started smoking.
Speaking with 7NEWS, Brockton Deputy Fire Chief Edward Williams said a student was using the computer at the time.
“He knocked it to the floor,” Williams said. “That’s when they notified authorities.”
As they responded, Williams said crews used lithium-ion incident kits that he said are stocked on each of Brockton’s fire trucks.
The kits frequently come in handy as Williams said Brockton firefighters tackle roughly one lithium-ion battery fire per month.
In this case, crews used heat resistant gloves to place the burnt battery inside a cushion filled with glass beads. The beads formed a film around the area that caught fire and allowed firefighters to bring the battery out of the high school.
Crews then wrapped the rest of the computer in a specialized blanket and also took it outside.
Though no one was hurt, students said the situation was frightening.
“I’m a little scared,” said Brockton senior Jenelle Robinson. “I just got my laptop. I’ve been waiting to get one and I can’t really use anything else. So, the laptop being kind of explosive is kind of scary.”
Friday’s laptop fire triggered the fire alarm at Brockton High School for roughly 30 minutes. Students were eventually allowed back into the school.
The cause of the fire remained unknown as of Friday afternoon.
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