Learning Returns to Foods Classroom After Fire

A photo of the post-fire damage supplied by Watauga administration.

On Thursday, February 8, a fire started in Watauga High School in Ms. Tunstill’s classroom. That day, the school was hosting a women's basketball games and in the chaos of preparation, empty pizza boxes had been left near a turned on burner on the stove.

As the flames grew higher, they reached the shelves surrounding the oven and caused the tablecloths and cooking aprons to set ablaze. Soon the entire area of "kitchen one" caught on fire and caused further damage to "kitchen two."

Thanks to the high school’s safety protocols and quick response time, no people were injured at the scene. The sprinkler systems quickly turned on and doused out the fire before there was any chance of spreading. The event overall lasted less than 5 minutes but caused extensive damage to Mrs Tunstill’s classroom.

“Our custodial staff did an unbelievable job because as soon as the fire was out they immediately got the water out as quickly as possible and stopped the water from spreading downstairs,” said Watauga Principal Dr. Blanton.

The fire caused smoke damage in the classroom, with the sprinkler systems causing water damage in the effort to extinguish the flame.

“The water that extinguished the fire was a model that can spray up to 40 gallons of water per minute," said Blanton. "It had run for a good while so it did damage to that room as well as causing damage to other classrooms as well.”

Two washing machines were destroyed by the water damage from the sprinklers and much of the rest of the classroom had to be reorganized. "Kitchen one" and "kitchen two" are still unable to be used at this time and have forced Ms. Tunstill to combine "kitchens three" and "four" to allow students to continue cooking in her classroom.

This incident has changed the way we handle food in after school situations like sporting events.

“Going forward we will not be using the Foods room, we will be using a different room where there is not a stove,” said Blanton.

For Ms. Tunstill, the food classroom is a place where students can learn about the complexity and fun of cooking while still being in school and in a safe learning environment. Safety is incredibly important to Ms. Tunstill and although she encourages a fun and laid-back learning environment, students must pay attention while using cooking materials and equipment.

“Because it is a Foods class, students in the class are often held to a higher responsibility and are trusted with using hot or dangerous materials,” Tunstill said.

While this fire was not caused by students in the class, it is an important reminder that safety measures are always important in a classroom. Ms. Tunstill wants to thank the maintenance staff and any others who responded quickly and spent all night cleaning up the classroom.