I got this from the Stagecraft list-serv. Please, please, please hang your lights with care and keep fabric away from them!
This happened Friday at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale.
Here are two stories about it
Fire put out at Saguaro High auditorium
Codie Sanchez
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 23, 2007 09:35 PM
A fire broke out in the auditorium of Saguaro High School in Scottsdale Friday evening, sending 13 fire department units to the scene.
No one was injured.
Students were inside the auditorium preparing for a musical when they noticed a haze and strange odor filling the room. The students and staff members were able to evacuate safely.
The fire started at about 5:15 p.m. in the curtains of the auditorium of the high school, the Scottsdale Fire Department said However the quick response of fire units and automatic sprinkler system quickly put out the fire.
When the fire officials arrived, black smoke billowed from the auditorium. Forty to fifty firefighters from multiple units arrived on the scene to put out the 1st alarm fire, officials said.
Fire officials checked the nearby buildings and were able to contain the fire. A damage estimate is not yet available.
and from today, with the cause:
Fire forces high school to rebuild stage floor
Amanda Keim, Tribune
Saguaro High School's stage floor will have to be replaced after a fire that broke out in the auditorium Friday caused $40,000 worth of water and fire damage.
The fire was caused by a curtain that was too close to some stage lights in the building at 6250 N. 82nd St., said Patty Jo Angelini, Scottsdale Fire Department public education officer. [emphesis added by mbenonis]
While sprinklers were able to contain the fire damage to a light and the side curtain that caught fire, the waterlogged stage floor will have to be completely replaced, said Maureen O'Leary, Scottsdale Unified School District spokeswoman.
"There was just so much water damage that they weren't able to save it," O'Leary said. "The sprinklers did their job, but at the cost of the stage floor."
School security called 911 at 5:15 p.m. on Friday to report the first-alarm fire, Angelini said.
About 40 to 50 firefighters from Scottsdale, Tempe and Phoenix responded to the blaze, Angelini said. The fire was put out about 10 minutes after crews arrived.
The fire was being extinguished as the school's varsity choir, Voices of Saguaro, was arriving for a concert and silent auction to raise money for a trip to Washington, D.C.
The choir had to leave several instruments behind on the stage, but was able to perform part of its show in the school's cafeteria, O'Leary said.
All of the instruments were saved, she added.
It should take three to four weeks to install a new permanent stage floor in the auditorium, O'Leary said.
Until then, the school is fitting a temporary floor on the stage so school groups and other groups who rent the space will be able to use it, O'Leary said.
"Right now the auditorium is completely open and available and usable," O'Leary said. "It's just the stage floor."
It should be noted that this is the most common cause of fires on stage.
Jerry Gorrell
Theatre Safety Programs