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First Posted: 5/30/2013 WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A fire that heavily damaged the library and destroyed hundreds of books at St. Nicholas-St.Mary Elementary School was caused by an electrical outlet, according to an investigation by city Fire Inspector Alan Klapat.
The fire, discovered by a nun leaving the convent at 5:22 a.m., could have been much worse, Fire Chief Jay Delaney said.
The school has a strict policy that fire doors are to be kept closed at all times; the fire doors prevented flames from spreading into the computer lab and possibly the main school building, Delaney said.
The school&#8217;s library and computer lab are in a modular classroom separated from the main school building on South Washington Street. A fire wall in the modular classroom separates the computer lab and library.
The fire was contained to the library with smoke damage in the computer lab, Delaney said.
&#8220;God was very good to us that no children were here and no one was hurt,&#8221; said Sister Mary Catherine, principal at St. Nicholas.
She said 385 students, from pre-K to eighth grade, attend the school.
Monsignor Joseph Rauscher and Sister Catherine credited the quick work by firefighters in extinguishing the blaze.
Firefighters encountered heavy fire and smoke coming from the modular classroom. &#8220;The firefighters did an excellent job at containing the fire to one part of the building,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Fortunately, the school followed their policy in keeping the fire doors shut. We see in many buildings where the fire doors are propped open. Here is an example of why fire doors should be kept closed at all times.&#8221;
The library is a total loss with hundreds of books destroyed, Delaney said.
Rauscher said the school will remain closed today.
Klapat determined the fire originated in an electrical outlet located behind a bookshelf and was not in use at the time of the fire.
The city&#8217;s code enforcement office along with the fire department inspected the main school building, which sustained smoke damage.

Wilkes-Barre school fire traced to outlet