Fire breaks out at high school as Blue Masques matinee is about to start

(Updated: 3:37 p.m.) Fire broke out in one of the portable buildings at Riverhead High School this afternoon just before the curtain was to rise for the matinee performance of Bye Bye Birdie.

The high school was swiftly evacuated by school security and administration at about 1:50 p.m.

The portable building was unoccupied when smoke set off an automatic alarm, prompting security staff to evacuate students teachers and guests in the auditorium.

As people streamed out of the rear doors of building near the auditorium and gym, smoke began rising from the northwest corner of the building. Within seconds, white-gray smoke turned black and flames could be seen coming from the roof of the portable building.

The portable is not attached to the main building, which was not affected by the fire.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is not yet determined, Riverhead Fire Chief Joe Raynor said.

Riverhead Fire Department responded with a ladder truck and four engines, First Assistant Chief Kevin Brooks said. A Flanders Fire Departments rapid intervention team responded to the scene and Eastport Fire Department stood by at Riverhead FD headquarters, Brooks said. Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance also stood by at the scene.

“Flames were shooting out of both sides of the building and the roof, in the area of a heating and air-conditioning unit,” Brooks said. “The Riverhead fire marshal’s office is investigating.”

Brooks said he answered a call for an automatic alarm at the high school and when he arrived, saw smoke and put out the call for a structure fire. Riverhead FD had 60 to 70 volunteers answer the call.

The portable building, one of three placed on the north side of the high school, was being used by the high school for ESL instruction, Superintendent Nancy Carney said in a phone interview.

“It was completely destroyed,” Carney said. The ESL classes will be held tomorrow in the large group instruction classroom, she said.

ESL classes are also held in one of the other two portables, and the district’s construction management firm, Triton Construction, is using the third as an office, Carney said. The heating/air conditioning units in both of the other buildings will be checked tomorrow, she said.

“We’re very grateful to the volunteer firefighters for such a fast response,” Carney said. “They got the fire under control very quickly,” she said. “We’re thankful no one was in the building.”

The matinee performance of Bye Bye Birdie set for 2 p.m. today was canceled, said assistant superintendent David Wicks. Wicks said he was seated in the auditorium waiting for the show to start when the alarms went off, triggering the evacuation.

It is not yet known if the show will be rescheduled at a later date. The superintendent said she believes the high school auditorium is available next weekend if the Blue Masques want to reschedule the performance.