South Tahoe High teachers extinguish fire at the school

Quick thinking and action by three South Tahoe High teachers helped put out a fire at the campus just as the first day of school came to a close on August 29.

Melissa Berry called 911 and grabbed the fire extinguisher from her classroom and joined fellow teachers Lori Buchan and Whitney Pomeroy in putting out the fire just off the "C" wing at the school.

"The teachers did a good job stopping the fire and it suppressed when we arrived," said SLT Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Tim Spencer told South Tahoe Now at the scene.

The fire, which was small at about 15 feet by 30 feet according to Spencer, burned on the hill that heads from the school to Lake Tahoe Blvd.

He said their investigator was on his way to determine the cause. The area that burned was brush and pine needles, but Spencer said he did see some food containers there as well.

The first day of school had a chaotic end. As buses and students were leaving, besides the fire, an ambulance was arriving to transport a student with a medical episode.