Walton High School fire breaks out at construction site; no injuries or significant damage reported

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Walton High School fire
Photo: Cobb Fire Department

A fire broke out Tuesday at the construction site at Walton High School, where a new gymnasium and fine arts building are being built.

James Kapish, public information officer for the Cobb Fire Department, said the call came in around 4:48 p.m., stating that there was a fire on the roof of the construction area, and that no students nor staff were on scene at the time.

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Cobb Fire arrived around 5:55 p.m., according to Kapish, who added that there were no injuries. He said fire crews had the remaining workers safely evacuate.

The superintendent of the construction project said that a section of insulation caught fire, Kapish said, but the reason hasn’t been determined.

Firefighters kept the blaze from spreading and it was contained at 5:22 p.m., he said.

Kapish said the  fire was confined to the construction area, and that classes at Walton will operate as normal on Wednesday.

The $31.7 million construction project is taking place on the site of the former Walton classroom building. The new gym and fine arts/theater building, which totals around 151,000 square feet, is scheduled to open for the 2019-20 school year in August.

Cobb schools said preliminary information indicates that the damage from the fire is not significant.

This story will be updated.

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