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Children Safely Evacuated After Fire At St. Pete Preschool

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TBO.com

Published: December 23, 2008

Updated: 12/23/2008 05:38 pm

Forty-eight students and eight teachers were evacuated from a St. Petersburg preschool when a fire started in the building's attic this afternoon, authorities say.

Victoria Bishop, the afternoon administrator of Learning Adventures Preschool at 4401 38th Ave. N., smelled smoke and saw a light haze around the building shortly before 3 p.m., St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue spokesman Lt. Joel Granata said.

Bishop pulled the fire alarm, gathered the emergency contact numbers for the children and helped teachers and students evacuate the one-story structure quickly, Granata said.

No one was hurt.

"Their fire alarm procedures worked perfectly," Granata said.

The children held hands and walked in a line to another preschool across the street, where parents later picked them up, he said.

The fire was extinguished in 11 minutes and caused at least $15,000 in damage, authorities say.

Firefighters used a thermal imaging camera to find the source of the smoke. Investigators say a malfunctioning bathroom ceiling fan caused the fire.

Twenty firefighters from Seminole, Lealman and St. Petersburg responded to the scene.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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