A car fire in the parking lot of Habersham Central High School Thursday morning created some anxious moments, both on and off campus.
The fire broke out in the front parking lot just before 9:30 a.m.
County school superintendent Matthew Cooper says a student’s car caught on fire after it was parked. “The fire department and our school resource officer Murray Kogod responded very quickly,” Cooper says. “Deputy Kogod was able to quickly determine that there was no one in the vehicle. The fire department was able to quickly put out the fire.”
An adjacent vehicle did sustain damage but no one was injured.
News of the incident spread quickly on social media as students uploaded photos of the burning vehicle to Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram. The presence of firefighters and police on school grounds near the start of the school day also caused some anxiety for passers by and parents.
High School Principal Wes McGee sent out a robocall to parents informing them of the incident shortly after 1 p.m. It’s the second time in as many weeks that social media postings have stirred community concern over situations at the high school.
On April 18th, McGee also issued a call to parents assuring them their students were safe despite rumors of a school lockdown. In that instance a teacher at the nearby Habersham Christian Learning Center saw two boys with what appeared to be rifles in the vicinity of the Learning Center and Ninth Grade Academy. Law enforcement quickly responded and discovered the boys were target practicing with pellet guns.
READ: Boys with pellet guns spark rumors of school lockdown
As in that instance, Cooper praised the way administrators and public safety officials handled today’s situation.
“The high school administration did an excellent job of ensuring that there were no students in the parking lot and of keeping all students and staff inside the building,” he says. “The most important thing is that no students were affected by the car fire. There was only property damage and property can be replaced.” Cooper adds, “We are thankful for the quick response of our fire department, school resource officer, and Habersham Central administrators and staff.”
(photo/Jacob Ramey)
