Charge against student dismissed in MCCTC blaze

The blaze did an estimated $8 million damage.

YOUNGSTOWN — A charge has been dismissed against a girl who was to go on trial in last May’s fire at the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center.

Pamela Schindler, who was 17 when the charge of criminal damaging was filed against her in the multimillion-dollar blaze that destroyed a wing of the school on Palmyra Road, was to go on trial Monday in county juvenile court.

After a three-month investigation, Canfield Police alleged Schindler, of the South Range school district, lighted a cigarette lighter near a bucket of solvent in an art room.

The solvent caught fire, and when a student tried to throw the flaming bucket into a sink, the fire spread.

Anthony D’Apolito, administrator at the juvenile court, said Tuesday the charge was dismissed without prejudice, which means it could be refiled.

He said there could be any of a number of reasons the charge was dismissed at this time, and he does not know the specifics.

He referred that question to the juvenile prosecutor’s office, which could not be reached to comment Tuesday.

The May 4 fire began in a multimedia lab and gutted two classrooms in the main building at the tech center and heavily damaged the roof. The blaze obliterated all the computer and communications networks, including copiers, phone systems and network servers.

The fire was contained to the north front wing of the building, where the blaze started.

That part of the building suffered major fire damage and a collapsed roof, but the entire school had smoke, water and heat damage, said Cardinal Joint Fire District officials.

Superintendent Roan Craig said in September, when the school reopened for the 2007-08 school year, that the latest damage estimate, including extensive smoke damage in the parts of the building that weren’t damaged by fire, is about $8 million.

The school also has 38,000 less square feet after the blaze.