Fire inside in West Mifflin Area High School auditorium damages wall, floor

WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. — Firefighters responded to West Mifflin Area High School on Monday afternoon because of a fire in the building’s auditorium.

West Mifflin Area School District Superintendent Jeffrey Soles says the fire originated from a lift from an outside contractor that had been plugged in overnight for charging.

The fire, which damaged part of the auditorium’s wall and floor, was quickly “contained and extinguished,” Soles said.

“We are grateful for the swift action of the custodial staff and emergency responders in addressing this situation. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and we will work diligently to repair the damage and prevent similar incidents in the future,” Soles said.

The district initially said it didn’t anticipate the fire would interrupt the school schedule, but officials later decided to transition students to a remote learning day for Tuesday.

In a Facebook post, the district said the building is structurally safe, but they decided to shift to remote learning because of odor from the fire.

All other schools within the district will operate normally on Tuesday.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW