Firefighters acted quickly Tuesday morning to put out a blaze started in a classroom and storage area at the back of the Charlotte Amalie High School campus.
The fire, which was first noticed about 10 a.m, was nothing more than a smoldering pile of football equipment by 10:45 a.m.
Charlie Davis, a health teacher whose classroom was next door to the area where the fire was started, said his first awareness of the fire came when he smelled smoke. His building is in an isolated area of the campus.
"It is easy for anybody – a student or anybody – to come and go from the area without being seen," Davis said.
According to a police source, one suspect has already been picked up in the apparent arson.
Physical education teacher Arthur Solomon speculated that someone could have thrown a lighted piece of paper or a "cocktail bomb" through a hole in the door where a lock had been removed.
Solomon said the scorched area was being used to store "brand new" football equipment.
Assistant Fire Chief Glenn Francis said a "tanker" and two "pumpers" were dispatched to the school. About a dozen firemen were at the scene, some wearing kerchiefs across their faces to block the thick smoke emanating from burning plastic.
Davis said he had spent part of the morning moving items from his classroom in preparation for school ending this week.
