Teen charged with setting school fire in Boonton
Bathroom use limited after two incidents prompt evacuations
By Tehani Schneider • Daily Record
• November 14, 2008
BOONTON -- A 14-year-old student has been charged with setting a
fire in a bathroom at Boonton High School, which resulted in about
$100,000 in damages and contributed to district officials implementing
a new bathroom policy for all students that will begin today.
OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1');The teen who allegedly set the Wednesday morning fire, a freshman
from Lincoln Park, was charged with two counts of third-degree arson,
one count of third-degree cause or risk of widespread injury or damage
and one count of third-degree criminal mischief for causing a loss in
excess of $2,000, police said. The teen was released to the custody of
a parent, pending an appearance in family court.
The Lathrop
Avenue building was evacuated again on Thursday after a handwritten
bomb threat -- later determined to be a hoax -- was discovered by a
student inside a second floor boys bathroom shortly before noon.In
the wake of the two incidents that each resulted in the evacuation of
all students, district officials have implemented a new bathroom policy
that will begin today.The roughly 600 students at the joint
facility -- which houses both the high school and middle school -- will
be required to sign out of class to use the bathrooms and then sign in
outside the bathrooms, which will manned by a staff member on duty,
district officials said.Only one student will be permitted to
use the bathroom at a time, and a staff member will check the room,
specifically the stalls and walls, after the student leaves, officials
said. Students will not be permitted to bring backpacks into the
bathrooms.Schools Superintendent Christine Johnson said she
discussed the policy with Boonton High School Principal Gus Modla, who
will notify the students of the change today."I think it's
unfortunate that we have to implement this procedure, but I think it's
a necessity at this time," said Johnson on Thursday afternoon. "I feel
it's a necessity just with the two incidents over the last two days."Citing
confidentiality issues because of the boy's age, Johnson declined to
comment specifically on the district's response to the charges the
Lincoln Park teen faces and if the district will seek restitution for
the damages."I'm not at liberty to discuss the consequences," she said.However, she did reiterate a statement she gave on Wednesday afternoon, during the police investigation into the fire."Whenever
the safety of our students is compromised, I deem it to be of the
highest priority," Johnson said in the statement. "If the party or
parties are apprehended, I am prepared to recommend the most severe
consequences and legal actions."An investigation revealed the
teen allegedly was smoking in the bathroom, and used a cigarette to
burn holes into the roll of toilet paper in the stall to see what it
would be like, said Boonton Police Capt. Curt James in a press release.The
toilet paper appears to have smoldered and then ignited, James said.
The fire then spread to the side of the plastic stall divider and
melted a plastic ceiling light cover, causing a smoky spectacle.The
blaze, which began in a ground floor boys bathroom around 10:40 a.m.,
was quickly extinguished, but the smoke reached the adjacent cafeteria
and food set out for that lunch period.The board of health shut
down the cafeteria for the remainder of the day and advised school
officials to dispose of the contaminated food.All students were
evacuated to the football field after the alarms sounded. The middle
school students were escorted to John Hill, while high school students
were sent home.The investigation into Thursday's bomb threat --
determined to be a prank after Boonton police, Morris County
Prosecutor's Office and the Morris County Sheriff's Office K-9 and CSI
units combed the building -- is ongoing, authorities said.Following
the discovery of a handwritten message that indicated a bomb may be in
the school, all students were evacuated to John Hill. They were
permitted to return at 1:45 p.m. after the building was deemed safe.School
board President Adam Schnitzler expressed his concern about the
incidents, noting he expects the board to discuss them in executive
session on Nov. 24"We as a board and a community need to know if
these incidents are related, and possibly indicative of a larger
problem or trend, or if they are isolated and contained," Schnitzler
said."There is nothing more important than the safety of our students and personnel," he said.Johnson,
who periodically meets with district parents to have an open dialogue
about issues at the high school, said she will make the incidents a
priority at her next talk on Tuesday in Lincoln Park.She
estimated the smoke and water damage to the bathroom and cleanup of the
hallways and adjacent cafeteria by a hired crew will cost the district
approximately $100,000."It's unfortunate that the school
district is put in this position to have had this happen, and that the
students were put in a situation that could have been potentially
unsafe," she said. "It's an expensive undertaking."In addition
to a new policy for the bathrooms, district officials are taking other
security measures for the building, Johnson said. New security cameras
will be installed on the exterior and interior of the building in the
coming days, with $20,000 allocated for the district from the Morris
County Improvement Authority, she said."This is something that
has been discussed in Boonton for years," said Johnson, who earlier
this year recommended the school board earmark those funds for security
purposes. "I think we need to begin this process of using that money
right now."
Subject: Teen starts fire in school bathroom 
