Dumpster fire fails to trash first day excitement at Chapman Elementary

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — For thousands of metro area kids, Tuesday was the first day of school. At Chapman Elementary in Northwest Portland, it was a dumpster fire literally!

A fire started in a garbage can and spread to a dumpster overnight. A custodian used a fire extinguisher to put it out, but it flared back up just hours before school started. Then the fire department showed up and finished the job.

Nobody was hurt. The building wasn’t damaged. And the first day of school went on like it was supposed to.

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Portland Public Schools (PPS) Superintendent Dr. Kinmberlee Armstrong rode the bus with the Chapman kids. She met up with Portland Police Chief Bob Day to greet everybody, hand out some stickers and pencils, and get to know the community.

“This is an opportunity to connect with people in a low crisis, positive situation. And really for them to get a chance to interact with us and us them. It does create a sense of safety. We have an aggressive effort right now and for the next couple of weeks, lots of just visibility,” said Armstrong.

Parents, in the meantime, were helping kids find their teachers, go through the right door, and get them where they needed to be.

Tracey Lew and her daughters opted for a bike ride for the first day, coming to a school they love.

“It’s really wonderful in there. There’s a lot of great windows. A lot of great lights. The teachers have been amazing. There’s a lot of great community. We love doing all the swift stuff in the fall. Sliding down the hill, we just did that as an inaugural day,” said Lew.