NEWARK | Crews extinguish fire at East Ward Elementary School during the weekend

Authorities are investigating what caused a fire at East Ward Elementary School on Saturday afternoon, reported at 3:39PM and under control by 4:11PM. The building is expected to reopen by the start of the academic year.

No one was injured in the blaze.

It is the second time in a year that a Newark Public Schools building has suffered a fire.

In August 2023, a small fire at Wilson Avenue School, also in the East Ward, took firefighters about two hours to control. Investigators did not determine a specific cause but said that there was “no malice” involved.

After the first 2023 blaze, questions were then raised about 279 fire code violations across 45 locations in Newark’s public schools, – from January through April 2023 – including six violations at East Ward School.

Wilson Avenue School opened in time for the start of the 2023/2024 academic year.