School starts on time after dryer fire at Schaumburg High

A fire sparked by an industrial dryer at Schaumburg High School early Wednesday morning was quickly extinguished, injuring no one and causing no damage to the building, school officials said.

Schaumburg firefighters were called to the school just before 5 a.m. and found the fire had been extinguished by maintenance staff. Large fans were used to clear the building of smoke so that school could start on time at 7:30 a.m.

The dryer is located near the school's swimming pool and auditorium, officials said.

Schaumburg-Palatine High School District 211 spokesman Tom Petersen said the building was air tested and deemed to be safe.

"Building maintenance staff and the principal walked the school before the fire department left with their air quality meters, and all measured zero issues," Petersen said.

Because of the pandemic, students at the school are doing a hybrid model where half the students attend classes in person one week and do remote learning the next in order to lower class sizes.