Police investigating suspicious fire at a Richland One high school

FOREST ACRES, S.C. (WIS) - The Forest Acres Police Department (FAPD) is investigating a suspicious fire that happened in a restroom at A.C. Flora High School.

School administrators said the fire was reported on the morning of Thursday, March 16, in one of the restrooms of the school. Both the Richland County Resource Officer and the Fire Marshal were called to the scene.

Forest Acres police were called to investigate the fire when it was determined the blaze was a criminal act.

Investigators said they found the paper towel dispenser inside a girls restroom had been set on fire. The flare was put out with a fire extinguisher at the school but the Columbia Fire Department did respond and assist.

The fire was contained to the restroom and no one was hurt according to officials.

“While we are relieved this fire was extinguished swiftly and without injury - we remain greatly disturbed by this apparent crime in our public school,” says FAPD Chief Don Robinson.

Robinson added, “We are investigating this fully and following up on all leads actively coming into our departments including those from the student body. We are committed to seeing this investigation through and hopefully identifying a suspect or suspects and charging them with what’s allowed under the fullest extent of the law. Criminal damage to property will not be tolerated in our city - especially at our public schools where students and educators were placed at risk intentionally.”

Notice a spelling or grammar error in this article? Click or tap here to report it. Please include the article's headline.

Stay up to date with WIS News 10. Get the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and Stream us on Roku, YouTube, Amazon Fire, or Apple TV.