Computer blamed in school fire

An electrical problem with the main computer server was officially blamed for the six-alarm inferno that gutted much of Wasatch Junior High School, authorities said Tuesday.

The fire started in the server tower and was "electrical in nature," said Utah State Fire Marshal Ron Morris. From there, books, papers and plastics piled in the storage room next to the server helped fuel the flames with such a fury that there was little hope of containing it with just a fire extinguisher.

"If you could write a recipe for a fire, that was a good one to write," Morris said.

It was undetermined Tuesday whether the server overheated or if there was a sudden surge or circuit overload that sparked the fire.

Morris said electrical fires are common, but not many are associated with a computer server. Ideally, there shouldn't be a lot of combustible items around something that generates heat, he said.

But in a school, he said, it would probably be hard not to find an area that didn't have papers or books.

At 11 a.m. Tuesday, investigators from the Unified Fire Authority (UFA), State Fire Marshal's Office and the ATF finished their investigation and turned control of the school back to the Granite School District. Morris said it would be up to the district to estimate the cost of damages caused by the blaze.

The fire started about 12:35 p.m. Monday. By the time crews arrived at the school, 3750 S. 3100 East, flames had already reached the roof.

Smoke and flames could be seen across the valley. Firefighters stood watch over the fire throughout the night as hot spots continued to burn. The last hot spot flared up and was extinguished just after 8 a.m. Tuesday, UFA Capt. Gaylord Scott said.

As the smoke cleared and the sun came up Tuesday, onlookers could get a better idea of how much damage the fire caused.

The roof covering the gymnasium collapsed in two big chunks. A blackened scoreboard still hung on the wall, but the hardwood of the basketball court could not be seen as it was covered by thick debris including steel trusses that gave way.

Firefighters say the fire breached the gymnasium roof on the north end and then burned its way south. The collapse of the roof was so loud that some firefighters on the other side of the building thought it was an explosion.