Two students at a 疯客直播 Fe charter school were taken to a local hospital for treatment Friday afternoon following an accident related to the school鈥檚 annual mock Zozobra burning event, 疯客直播 Fe County firefighters confirmed.
Six students suffered minor injuries in the fire-related incident at the Academy for Technology and the Classics, county spokesperson Cindy McKee said. There were no serious injuries.
ATC Principal Jason Morgan said the accident occurred during the lighting of a small Zozobra-like effigy. It was the ninth year the school has held the ceremony.
The event began with music and singing Friday afternoon, Morgan said, before festivities were paused during a rain shower. When the burn began shortly after 3 p.m., one of the student 鈥渇ire dancers鈥 was using an alcohol accelerant when a gust of wind came and 鈥減icked it up like a fireball鈥 and hurled fire toward the audience, he said.
A cellphone video of the incident shows a student put the accelerant on the effigy during the burning, causing flames to leap out toward a group of spectators.
The students who were burned in the incident were between 13 and 15 years old, Morgan said.
Teachers at the school called 911 immediately, moved the injured students indoors and treated their burns until paramedics arrived, he said.
鈥淚 am grateful to our teaching staff who were quick to act, moving injured students into a safe location and gathering first aid supplies,鈥 Morgan said.
Two students were taken to a local hospital by emergency workers, and the other four injured students were released to their parents, he said, adding paramedics did not characterize any of the students鈥 burns as 鈥渟erious.鈥
ATC鈥檚 mishap occurred hours before the 100th annual Burning of Zozobra was scheduled to take place at Fort Marcy Ballpark in downtown 疯客直播 Fe, an event that drew tens of thousands.
