A 13-year-old boy was charged with reckless burning and criminal mischief after setting fire to a toilet paper dispenser at the John G. Prendergast School Tuesday.
Firefighters were called to the scene after a report of a fire in the boy’s bathroom at about 11 a.m., Ansonia Fire Chief Michael Eheman said.
It was a small fire, as the dispenser melted away and fell to the floor. There was heat damage to the stall, the chief said.
“It pretty much extinguished itself,” Eheman said.
Children and staff were outside for about 20 minutes as firefighters vented smoke from the building.
Firefighters also took air samples throughout the school to make sure it was safe for the kids to go back inside.
Fire doors inside the school prevented the smoke from contaminating other parts of the school, Eheman said.
The bathroom in question was a short distance from the school’s main entrance.
Firefighters were at the scene for about an hour.
Prendergast is a kindergarten through sixth-grade school on Finney Street.