A fire broke out in an electrical panel in the basement of the International High School in Union Square, Manhattan, last week. The fire shuttered the Washington Irving campus and displaced more than 2,000 students at the six schools housed at the building near Union Square.
Fire Department officials said the fire at 40 Irving Place started about 11 p.m. last Thursday and brought it under control about 30 minutes later, according to a report from the New York Daily News.
Fire Department officials said the cause of the fire is under investigation — but a school CEO said in a statement it was caused by electricians who were trying to bring additional power to the building.
The campus houses the Gramercy Arts High School, International High School, Academy for Software Engineering, High School for Language and Diplomacy and Union Square Academy for Health and Sciences as well as the charter school Success Academy Union Square.
Officials from Success Academy have complained about facilities the city provides for the charter system's students. In January, a Success Academy school in Rosedale, Queens, closed temporarily because of gas leaks in the building, according to the Daily News.
