Events look for new venues after Columbus North fire

After a fire yesterday morning in Columbus North High School’s Erne Auditorium, local organizations that had events scheduled for the auditorium are looking for new venues.

The Columbus Indiana Philharmonic announced yesterday that this Sunday’s holiday concert featuring the Wright Brothers will be moved to Columbus East’s auditorium. Shows are at 3 and 7 p.m. Seats will all be general admission.

Yesterday’s fire happened at about 7:44 a.m., when an overhead light burst, sending superheated glass into a plastic light cover. The cover then melted and dropped molten plastic onto the seats below, igniting the fabric. About 25 seats were destroyed. School officials quickly extinguished the fire but there was extensive smoke damage.