Fire from 'homemade phone charging device' prompts evacuation of Bayside High School

BAYSIDE (WABC) -- A small fire coming from a suspicious device prompted the evacuation of Bayside High School in Queens Monday morning.

Authorities say the fire department responded to a small fire coming from an unassigned locker in a first-floor classroom, which was found to be coming from the device.

The fire was contained to that locker, and the NYPD's Bomb Squad was called in to check out the situation.

A device was then found in a blue box at the bottom of the locker. It reportedly had two batteries -- a 9 Volt and an AA -- wires, and some sort of relay.

The students were evacuated around 10 a.m.

"We were going to pull the fire alarm, but it was already pulled," one student said. "It was a big shock to everyone."

The kids stood outside for several hours as police investigated, with administrators eventually deciding to split the students up to nearby schools.

After examining it, the bomb squad determined the device was not suspicious and was not a threat. Authorities believe it was some sort of homemade phone charger.

The scene was deemed clear around 2 p.m.

Students were allowed to return to retrieve their belongings and were dismissed for the day as frantic parents came to pick them up.

"I don't know why they made them wait and they didn't just send them home," parent Paula Molese said. "I think it's ridiculous."

No injuries were reported.