Separate fires strike Wheaton North High school, nearby house
Two unrelated fires broke out Thursday morning in Wheaton — one in a science storage room at Wheaton North High School and one a block south at a house on Armbrust Avenue, authorities said.
The fire at the school began before classes started at 7:20 a.m. and was put out by the sprinkler system, according to a message Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 spokeswoman Erica Loiacono sent to Wheaton North parents.
Students arriving for school were directed to the field house until the fire department could secure the area, Loiacono said.
By 9 a.m. when Loiacono sent information about the fire to parents, classes were cleared to resume. No one was injured, but classes in the 800 and 900 wings were relocated.
A house fire on the 25W300 block of Armbrust Avenue also drew crews to the area Thursday morning, authorities said. The blaze began about 7:10 a.m. in a house that was unoccupied at the time, and no one was injured.
Flames were showing when firefighters arrived, but the blaze was under control about 60 minutes later, according to a news release from the Wheaton Fire Department.
Damage estimates were not available Thursday afternoon for the fire at Wheaton North or the house fire. Authorities said both remain under investigation as the Wheaton police and fire departments and the DuPage County Fire Investigation Task Force try to determine what triggered each fire.