Fires started in two girl’s bathrooms at Sisters High School Wednesday morning, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office said. A female freshman student is now facing charges including arson.
“It was self-started and we already have a person identified,” Superintendent Curt Scholl of the Sisters School District said.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office said school staff responded to a girl’s restroom and put out the fire, which was located in the trash receptacle, with a fire extinguisher.
“I made a joke about how once there’s going to be an actual fire and it’s just going to be — we’re just going to think it’s a drill,” sophomore Anthanasios Garrett said.
Shortly thereafter, a second fire was reported in a separate girl’s restroom, DCSO said. This second fire was active and creating a lot of black smoke due to the fuel source being a paper product and a plastic toilet paper dispenser.
“Sure enough there was smoke coming out of the trash can and that’s when someone ran to the office and got staff members who then pulled the alarm,” Addison Nothiger, one of the students who reported the fire said.
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“Had some good smoke damage, particularly smoke in the commons and commons bathroom,” Scholl said.
Surveillance video helped identify the student, DCSO said. She was taken to Deschutes County Juvenile Detention on two counts of 1st degree arson, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct charges.
“It is a crime- arson in a school. So we’ll be following the protocol Deschutes County Sheriffs are on it right now,” Scholl said.
There were no injuries. Students were sent home.
