Construction work may be to blame for fires at two L.A. schools in the same night

Construction work may be to blame for fires that erupted at two schools in Sherman Oaks and North Hollywood about three miles apart Thursday night, according to authorities.

Firefighters arrived at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks at 9:29 p.m. to discover flames and smoke coming from the roof of St. Andre Bessette Hall, where crews had been working earlier that day. About 38 firefighters extinguished the flames by 9:49 p.m.

“Earlier in the day, they had roof work being done, and some roofing materials, like tar, needs to be heated up to make things stick,” Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Lyndsey Lantz said.

The fire damaged the roof and exterior wall of the two-story building at 13645 W. Riverside Drive. There were no reported injuries.

“Due to the quick response of our cleaning and security crews, everyone evacuated quickly and no one was injured,” Notre Dame High School President Rob Thomas said on Instagram.

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A second fire just three miles east of the private Catholic school was reported around 11:23 p.m. at Oakwood Secondary School in North Hollywood. Lantz said firefighters arrived to “a much smaller” fire with light smoke in one of the offices of the school building at 11600 Magnolia Blvd.

Firefighters extinguished the flames by 11:47 p.m.

“There was welding construction at the school during the day, so there could have been heated wood that never got cooled down properly,” Lantz said.

While the two fires seem to be construction-related and do not appear to be linked, Lantz said, both remain under investigation.

All operations at Notre Dame High School will continue as normal Friday, Thomas said.

“We are grateful for the brave and swift response from our firefighters, who were able to contain the fire quickly and with minimal damage,” he said.