Fires in 2 bathrooms at Yarmouth High School, young man charged with arson – Halifax | The Canadian News

The Yarmouth Mounted Police have charged a young man after two small fires deliberately broke out at a local high school during the noon hour Tuesday.

In a statement, police say they responded to a fire at Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School on Forest Street around 1:40 p.m. that afternoon. The local fire department was already on site and all students and staff were evacuated.

“Throughout the investigation, the police determined that a young man had set two fires at the school,” he said.

The young man was detained without incident and subsequently released under conditions. They will appear in court at a later date to face arson and mischief charges of more than $ 5,000.

Mike Deveau, the fire chief for the Yarmouth Fire Department, said one of the fires was in the girls’ bathroom on the second floor, which “did not seize and essentially went to the trash.”

The other was in the girls’ bathroom on the first floor, which activated the sprinkler system.

Deveau said the fire damage was “negligible” while the water damage appeared “fairly negligible.” He said the fires were out when firefighters arrived, but they helped mitigate the water damage by using squeegees and other equipment to remove the water.

He said no one was hurt.

“It had some potential, but the building was sprayed, which helped mitigate much of the risk,” he said. “Besides the fact that we have so many amazing volunteers and service staff here who did a wonderful job.”

In a statement, Ashley Gallant, spokeswoman for the Tri-County Regional Education Center, said the school was evacuated after the fires broke out and the students left at 1:45 p.m.

The school was closed on Wednesday.

“The cleanliness will be evaluated this afternoon and then a decision will be made whether the school will open tomorrow,” he said.