Fire breaks out at cafeteria under construction at central Fresno school

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A large black plume of smoke rose into the sky above Ericson Elementary School in central Fresno on Tuesday morning, causing some students to panic.

"It was a lot of smoke and fire coming. I was really scared, though," said Amirah Pharr-Walker, a student.

The Fresno Fire Department says the fire was sparked around 10 am.

They called around 30 firefighters to put out the blaze, which was mainly contained to the roof of the new cafeteria being built.

"The building is under construction, and it's suspected that some sort of the construction process sparked the fire," said Josh Sellers with the Fresno Fire Department.

Fire crews soon removing that debris from the roof.

All the students and staff safely evacuated, putting what they learned during fire drills into action.

"Practicing those fire escape plans is crucial because that's how you know where you need to go, and what you need to do when that alarm sounds," said Sellers.

After the firefighters had extinguished the flames, everyone was able to return to class, but some parents decided it was best for their students to go home.

"They could stay for the rest of the day, but I was just more concerned about her lunch being off, so I just came to pick her up early," said parent, Natasha Hammon.

Mia Barbosa said she was shocked when she got a message about the fire from the school.

"All it said was 'The fire's been contained,' and I'm like, What fire? What are you talking about?" recalled Barbosa.

She says she raced over as soon as she could.

Her daughter has asthma, so she felt it would be best to keep her away from the smoky campus.

"I can't imagine that air is healthy to breathe, and there was a lot of rubble up in the front," said Barbosa.

SkyView30 video shows construction workers clearing debris off the roof Tuesday afternoon.

Now, parents are wondering when the damaged building will be finished.

"They've been building that for a year. I don't understand what the hold up is and what's taking so long," said Barbosa.

"It's supposed to be finished this year, so hopefully, it's not a big setback because they are in a small spot right now," added Hammon.

For Pharr-Walker, while she was nervous during the evacuation, she was relieved at the outcome.

"Well, I'm happy everyone's safe, and I'm happy I'm safe," said Pharr-Walker.

As far as this construction goes, it's unclear how much of a set back this will be for the cafeteria.

The Fresno Unified School District released a statement about the fire, writing in part:

"We thank Fresno Fire for moving quickly to respond and eliminate the fire, and we thank our Ericson team and Safety team for their quick response and communication."

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