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Romulus School Closed After Possible Lightning Strike, Fire

ROMULUS (WWJ) - A Romulus school will be closed the rest of the week, following an early morning fire that was possibly sparked by a lightning strike.

Firefighters were called to Cory Elementary School on Smith Road, near Wayne and Wick roads, before classes began Thursday morning.

Crews arrived on the scene to find flames shooting up through the building's roof and quickly went to work. Shortly thereafter, the fire was extinguished without any injuries.

Romulus Fire Chief David Allison said the blaze may have started after a lightning strike.

"Sometimes you can get a lightning strike and it can take up to an hour, hour-and-a-half afterward before it actually turns into a large fire," Allison told WWJ's Vickie Thomas.

Allison said the fire started on the roof above the school's gymnasium, which sustained significant water damage.

Interim school superintendent Paula Daniels said classes are cancelled for the rest of the week, and the building will be closed until Monday.

"We will assess it further over the weekend to see what the conditions are, but we want to make sure that we have an ample opportunity to ensure that everything in the building will be up to code and ready to go for our students," she said.

Daniels said about 300 students attend the school.

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