Officials: Needville school fire was deliberately set

The fire that destroyed part of Needville High School yesterday morning was deliberately set, investigators say — though it's still too early to say by whom. According to Fort Bend County fire officials, whoever started the blaze threw a concrete block through a side door at the school, then went inside and set fires in two different parts of the building: the principal's office and a science classroom. "Multiple points of origin led us to believe it was not accidental," Fort Bend County Fire Marshal Vance T. Cooper said. "With the two being as remote as they are, the possibility is was accidental is not likely."

About 20 area fire departments responded to the fire, which was reported around 3 a.m. Monday. Though the administrative offices were totally destroyed and the science wing, cafeteria, library and some classrooms were damaged, the majority of the school was saved — which is pretty remarkable considering that there are no fire hydrants around the building, so firefighters had to bring in water. "We ran out of water several times," firefighter Gerald Matheas told KPRC. "We're really lucky to have saved what we did." As we mentioned yesterday, most of the Needville students' TAKS tests were destroyed in the fire; Needville ISD Superintendent Curtis Rhodes told the Chronicle that officials are talking with the Texas Education Agency to figure out what to do about that.

Coincidentally, Needville school district officials are planning to ask voters to pass a $60 million bond issue on May 12, $49.4 million of which would be earmarked for the construction of a new Needville HIgh School. Looks like the case for that bond money just became a little more urgent.