EAST HELENA — East Helena police chief Mike Sanders says two juveniles are suspected of starting a fire at Prickly Pear Elementary School on Friday.
“Obviously, in quite a bit of alarm when I saw a huge blaze going on here with thick billowing black smoke," said Prickly Pear Elementary's principal, Brandon Crusat.
School staff, fire department volunteers, and East Helena Police responded to the fire.
Officers responded to the scene just after 6 p.m. Friday.
When East Helena police arrived, there were no longer flames or smoke.
Prickly Pear’s principal was able to get the fire out with buckets of water.
Wood chips and the plastic barrier around the playground set are what were damaged in the fire.
The persons involved have been identified as juveniles, but their names and ages have not been released at this time.
Investigators identified the suspects using school security footage
Chief Sanders anticipates that two juveniles to be charged criminally later this week.
"In Montana and a lot of places, as the summer is around the corner, things start to dry out so it is pretty easy to set something ablaze," Crusat says. "Just to be extra cautious about what can catch on fire and then to have a contingency plan if something does catch on fire, how would you put it out.”
At the time of this report, the investigation is ongoing.
