WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | Fire at South Effingham High School football field
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By Christy Hutchings - bio | email
GUYTON, GA (WTOC) - What was once the entrance to the South Effingham High School football field is now nothing more than a pile of rubble.
Late Saturday night, a fire broke out.
"Upon arrival, we found a small building fully involved," firefighter Walter Wright explained. "The building was pretty much on the ground at the time."
It was the school's ticket booth.
Firefighters don't know yet what caused the fire. They received reports of an explosion and think the fire is no accident.
They told South Effingham High's principal, Dr. Mark Winters, it very well could be arson.
"If that's what it turns out to be," Dr. Winters told WTOC. "That does make you mad and frustrated that anyone would do something to damage a school."
Fire officials say it could be mischievous juveniles.
If that's the case, the culprit or culprits may not know exactly how much trouble they're going to be in. Whoever did this is facing felony charges.
The Effingham County Sheriff's Office Crime Scene Unit collected evidence. They will also be reviewing the surveillance video from a camera that was pointed right at the ticket booth.
While it is just a ticket booth and the school itself isn't damaged, it's still going to cost the school money to fix it.
Money that's definitely not in the school's budget.
Dr. Winters says they'll find a way to get everything back in order before the school year starts up again.
"We will," Dr. Winters firmly stated. "Here at South Effingham, we are the Mustangs and we're going to rise to the occasions."
The state fire marshall has been called out to investigate the fire. Anyone with information on this case is asked to call the Effingham County Sheriff's Office.
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