Three alarm blaze at Shelton High

Shelton (WTNH) - Firefighters from at least three towns are on the scene of a fire at Shelton High School, where there have been concerns about a renovation that did not include a sprinkler system.

It happened around 1:00 p.m.

"The entire building has been evacuated, obviously the children, all the students, are on Christmas vacation," said Capt. Michael Madden of the Shelton Police.

But there was a freshman basketball game going on that abruptly ended. There were also maintenance workers, contractors, teachers and administrative personnel inside.

Asst. Chief Mike Ullrich tells News Channel 8 that the fire started on the second floor  maintenance area in a storage closet and spread from there.

"The fire did travel through some duct work up to the 3rd and 4th floor," Ullrich said.

There is a concern over chemicals and toxic fumes on that top floor because of the science laboratories. Derby brought their Hazmat crews to the scene and assistance from Trumbull and Ansonia were also called in.

Now parents and students are wondering if school will be in session on Monday.

"I got a recording from Shelton High School. It told parents they'll let us know on the fourth - there was a fire in the school, we probably already heard already, and they'll let us know by the fourth if there is going to be school on Monday," said one parent.

No word yet on a cause of the fire.

Shelton High School was recently renovated, but as a Count on 8 investigation revealed, there was no sprinkler system installed. There are conflicting opinions between state and local fire officials on whether the sprinklers were required as part of the renovation. (See previous stories, linked left)