PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. – Paper being set on fire Friday morning inside a boys bathroom at a charter school in Pembroke Pines prompted the evacuation of the school, authorities said.
The incident was reported just before 9 a.m. at Renaissance Charter School at Pines at 10501 Pines Blvd. after a student told a teacher that they smelled smoke.
A Pembroke Pines Fire Rescue representative said the fire was extinguished before firefighters arrived.
Sky 10 was above the scene shortly before 11 a.m. as students were standing outside the school.
"I'm just happy that they're safe, and everyone is safe and this has been taken care of," one student's grandmother, Sonia Elliott, said.
Officials said there was a considerable amount of smoke and the building was ventilated.
The fire caused minimal damage and was contained to the bathroom stall, authorities said.
Authorities said Pembroke Pines Fire Rescue treated a child who was having a possible asthma attack, but they said it was not a direct result of the fire.
Parents were called to pick up their children and the school was closed for the day, authorities said.
It's unclear who started the fire.
The school will resume normal operations on Monday.