On the late afternoon of Wednesday, December 22, Porter Fire Department responded to a grass fire which turned to an automatic alarm which as Porter Firefighters arrived turned into an arson fire at the White Oak Middle School on Ben’s Branch in the New Caney School District.
Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire in the wall of the mechanical room which had been started when three juveniles, two eight-year-olds and one ten-year-old stacked tires against the outside exhaust louvers of the mechanical room. They then put paper from a nearby trash can in the tires and ignited it.
The fire quickly spread into the wall and emitted heavy smoke into the school itself. After the fire was extinguished the next task at hand was to secure a gas valve that had been broken off and had also been burning. The next issue was getting enough fans to evacuate the smoke from the building.
The Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s Office Wednesday identified the juveniles involved in the setting of the fire. At least one of the children will be dealt with through the Juvenile Court’s. In addition they will be responsible for monetary damages to the New Caney ISD school campus.
