By Tom Momberg
Emergency services were dispatched to Bayside High School Monday in response to a fire in a first-floor classroom, where they eventually found the source: A cell phone strapped to a nine-volt battery and an AA battery, which police sources said may have been the remnants of a homemade mobile charging device.
The device and the source of the fire were found inside a locker contained within a first-floor classroom, police said.
Public information officers said investigators were initially wary of the device, but ruled out the device as suspicious after the bomb squad was called to the scene.
A 911 call was made from the school at 10:03 a.m. and faculty, students and staff were evacuated immediately by the school administration, according to the NYPD.
There were no reports of injuries, said a FDNY spokesperson.
The fire department confirmed there was a fire in one of the classrooms. It was put under control at 11:24 a.m. At least 30 firefighters and six trucks responded to the scene, according to the FDNY.
All trucks had left the school, located at 32-24 Corporal Kennedy St. in Bayside, after the fire was extinguished, but the building remained evacuated until mid-afternoon. Several specialty police units and school safety officers were on the scene to investigate and secure the area as students and teachers waited on the front lawn.
Students were transported to local elementary and middle schools around noon, but classes eventually resumed at BHS toward the end of the school day.
Nobody has been charged and the investigation is ongoing, according to the NYPD.
