Students at Warren Central High School were evacuated Friday afternoon after smoke came billowing into the halls of Building A.

Warren County Fire Coordinator Jerry Briggs, who responded to the scene, said the smoke was caused by a fire that originated on the roof of the building. A construction crew working on the roof apparently set fire to it.

“It looks like the roofers were working on the roof and it would appear that they were using a torch to heat up tar on the roof and it caught some boards on fire,” Briggs said. “It was contained, and one of the deputies took a fire extinguisher up there to the roof to put it out.”

Briggs said there was no immediate danger to students, and praised the school’s leadership for evacuating them to safety in a timely manner.

Vicksburg Warren School District Director of Communications Christi Kilroy said the district was grateful for the help of the Warren County Fire Service in ensuring the safety of Warren Central’s students and faculty.

“We appreciate Warren County Fire’s cooperation in this, and our safety measures worked and we were able to get all the kids out in a timely manner,” Kilroy said.

In addition to Briggs, Ladder 3 from Fire Station 3 responded, along with Vicksburg Fire Chief Craig Danczyk.