A burst light in the Community Center’s gymnasium ceiling led to a full evacuation of the building this afternoon. No one was injured.
Fire alarms went off in the building around 1:27 p.m. The gymnasium was unoccupied, and those taking part in Community Center programs – such as in the senior center, in an adjacent dance class and in the preschool – were evacuated from the building as the alarms sounded.
The Arlington County Fire Department responded and quickly put out the fire, which was isolated to a light in the ceiling of the gymnasium that caught surrounding insulation on fire.
City of Falls Church Fire Marshal Tom Polera has ruled the fire accidental. The fire and the water that extinguished it caused damage to the ceiling, and falling debris damaged the gymnasium’s specially treated floors. Polera said that he estimates the cost of those damages to be around $1,500.The reason for the light’s malfunction is still under investigation.
As of this afternoon, Recreation and Parks Director Danny Schlitt has cancelled all activities in the Community Center taking place before 6 p.m.
A burst light in the Community Center’s gymnasium ceiling led to a full evacuation of the building this afternoon. No one was injured.
