This time, W. Phila. High is hit by fires

One day after an arsonist set fire to two classrooms at Martin Luther King Jr. High School in East Germantown, firefighters rushed to West Philadelphia High School - twice - yesterday morning when two more small fires erupted.

Both of those fires also appeared to have been deliberately set.

MLK High, which has been closed since the fire, will be closed again today as clean-up crews continue their work, district spokeswoman Amy Guerin said.

Classes will resume Tuesday, and community-service activities planned for Monday, the Martin Luther King holiday, will proceed as scheduled, Guerin said.

The first blaze at West Philly High was reported at 9:48 a.m., when a lounge chair in the basement caught fire, said Executive Chief Daniel Williams, a Fire Department spokesman.

School staffers extinguished that blaze, Williams added.

Less than two hours later, a trash can was set afire in a school stairway, Williams said. That blaze also was out by the time firefighters arrived, he added.

Wednesday's fire at MLK High, which broke out at 11:54 a.m. in two third-floor classrooms and was doused by 12:30 p.m., had "multiple points of origin," prompting the fire marshal to rule it incendiary, Williams said.

That blaze forced an evacuation of almost 1,100 students and 175 staffers from the school, on Stenton Avenue near Haines Street.

A pregnant student who went into labor during the mayhem was taken to an area hospital.

City and school district police are investigating. *