Fire at Hanover Park High School Contained

Hanover Park High School custodian Victor Nepa used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames from a faulty heater in the school guidance counselor's office last Wednesday.

The East Hanover Fire Department found smoke inside Building 1 when they responded to an activated fire alarm at the high school.

Nepa told East Hanover Police Patrolman Randy Patner he was inside the building when the heater caught fire in the guidance counselor's office.

"There was no actual damage to the school, just damage to the to a portable heater inside the guidance office," Sgt. James Snow of the East Hanover Police Department said. "There apparently was no smoke damage either."

The fire department assessed the area and exhausted the smoke from the air. They determined the fire was due to a faulty electrical panel on the heater and advised the school have the heater replaced.