DE SOTO, Iowa — DeSoto Intermediate School will remain closed on Thursday after a fire damaged the school shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday.
This is the second day in a row that DeSoto Intermediate cancelled classes.
The fire started on the roof of the 1990s wing of DeSoto Intermediate, according to a statement from Adel-DeSoto-Minburn Superintendent Greg Dufoe.
Firefighters said an air conditioner on top of the building caught on fire, causing flames to be visible from the roof.
"We can see flame coming off the roof on the northeast corner of the building so we drove around back and pulled the line and put an initial hit on it," Chief Tim Murray of DeSoto Fire and Rescue said.
First responders were able to contain the flames before they spread to the rest of the building.
The building was empty and no one was injured due to the fire. However, the 1990s wing sustained "significant water and smoke damage", according to Dufoe.
The school district brought in crews Wednesday morning to assess the damage and begin restoration.
"We are hopeful that the 1990s wing of the building can be sectioned off, so cleanup and restoration can occur in those areas, while students continue to occupy the 2014 wing and 3-story portions of the building," Dufoe said in a statement.
However, DeSoto Intermediate will not be able to reopen until fire safety systems are restored and air quality tests determine the school to be safe.
As such, the district announced the school would remain closed on Thursday, while all other ADM schools will continue to meet regularly.
"We are hopeful but uncertain that DeSoto Intermediate students will be able to return to school on Friday, April 21, 2023," Dufoe said in his statement. "This decision will be made and communicated with families following air quality tests results that will be known tomorrow afternoon."
Students at DeSoto Intermediate will be required to make up missed days of school at the end of the year following Memorial Day.
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