Neighbors reported black smoke rising from Glen Cove Elementary School in Vallejo early Tuesday morning. Firefighters arrived to find a play structure on fire.
“A little before 6 a.m., multiple reports of structure fire at glen cove elementary school,” said Vallejo Fire Department Battalion Chief Cliff Campbell.
Crews from two fire engines put out the flames in seconds, and no one was injured. However, about half of the jungle gym will have to be replaced. The fire melted rubber, plastic and aluminum, making the structure unsafe.
Meanwhile, Vallejo Unified School District operations crews have boarded up a section of the play structure to make sure kids stay safe until they can rebuild.
“It makes me angry. Probably some larger, older kids destroying a little kid’s play area. This is stuff my grandkids play on,” operations manager Butch Crane said.
Crane says arson investigators found no signs of an accelerant on scene, and do not know the cause of the fire.
This is the second suspicious playground fire in Vallejo in two years. Another one occurred in May of 2014 at Loma Vista Elementary School.
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Crews hope to have Glen Cove’s playground rebuilt by the start of school, which is in a month. Crane says it will cost thousands to replace.
