Storm, fire damage South Pemiscot Central Elementary; classes canceled
FOX23 News at 9 p.m
STEELE, Mo., (KBSI) — Severe storms caused significant damage and sparked a fire at South Pemiscot Central Elementary School late Monday night, according to the Steele Fire Department.
Fire crews were dispatched around 11:39 p.m. after a passerby reported a possible fire at the school.
Upon arrival, firefighters found multiple downed power lines and extensive storm damage, including a large section of the roof that had been torn away.
Officials said firefighters also discovered a broken natural gas line at the rear of the building that was actively burning.
South Pemiscot schools Superintendent Glenn Carter says he was at home last night when the fire started and had no idea it was happening until he got a phone call….
“I got a phone call, you know, from the mayor, he said ‘hey Glenn there’s flames coming out of the top of your, Central Elementary’ Of course, you know, my heart went up into my throat” says Carter.
Carter shares that when he arrived to the school multiple fire departments and emergency personnel were on scene containing the incident. Carter saying the emergency and community response have been amazing. Students were out of school today, April 28, 2026, but Carter says with only a little over a week left of school they have a plan and school will be in-session tomorrow.
“We’re going to continue as normal in the next few days, we’re going to use the multipurpose building parking lot, kind of a parent pick up drop off. We’re not going to do any student teacher parking here. That’s pretty much going to take place off of our semi-circular drive and all the elementary kids will be going into the gym, and then we have each section where they go from there” says Carter.
Carter says they will continue cleanup efforts and discuss damages with the insurance company. Highlighting that no students or staff were hurt or in the building when disaster struck is the main take away from the incident.
“It’s bad looking at the damage but it could have been a lot worse” says Carter. “This could have taken place when kids were in school, and that would have been much, much more. So, if there’s a silver lining it was the fact it took place when there were no kids at the school.”
Mutual aid was requested from the Cooter, Hayti and Caruthersville fire departments. Crews were able to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading further into the structure.
While crews were responding to the school, additional calls were reported, including a burning power line on Liberty Street and a fully involved structure fire on County Road 559.
Area departments assisted with those incidents.
School officials said the damage resulted in the loss of a significant portion of the building’s metal roof and a fire that destroyed two or three classrooms.
South Pemiscot R-5 Schools announced classes will be canceled Tuesday as a full assessment of the damage continues.
