A fire broke out in the gym of a Roosevelt Middle School in Compton on Wednesday, forcing more than 1,000 students and their teachers to evacuate. Patrick Healy reports from Compton for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014.
A roofer working on a Compton middle school gym may have ignited a fire when he dropped the torch, firefighters said.
Compton city firefighters, assisted by firefighters from the Los Angeles County Fire Department, fought the fire that broke out in the gym attic at Theodore Roosevelt Middle School, officials said.
The call came in at 1:25 p.m. at the school at 1200 E. Alondra Blvd.
No one in the gym because it was closed for roofing maintenance. The fire prompted an evacuation of all 1,100 students and staff, officials said.
Compton Battalion Chief Anthony Adams said a roofer may have accidentally sparked the fire.
A firefighter was hospitalized for smoke inhalation while the blaze.
