At 1034 hrs units with the 2nd Battalion Fire Chief were alerted for a report of a fire in the school at Fletcher Johnson Educational Facility, 4650 Benning Rd SE. Engine 30 responded and Truck 17 responded first due on the run. The units from “The Heights” arrived on the scene of a 3 story concrete educational facility with a report of fire in a storage room near the auditorium. Due to the large size of the building and the unclear reports of where the fire was located, Truck Company 17 conducted a rapid recon of the situation while Engine 30 prepared to stretch their attack line. Truck 17 located a smoke stained doorway to an auditorium on the first floor and forced entry, thick black smoke banked down into the hallway and it was clear that this was a working fire. As Truck 17s officer communicated the location of the fire the interior team utilized the Thermal Imaging Camera to navigate the large expanse. The team located an approx. 30 x 40 ft storage room adjacent to the auditorium with its contents on fire. Engine 30, backed up by Engine 27, stretched their line to the location as the interior team of Truck 17 kept the doorway in check with the water can. As the fire attack was making short work of the storage room Truck 17’s outside team working along with Trucks 16 and 7 began setting up for the task of ventilating the very secure building. While ventilation was kicking into full gear an even larger gymnasium was found to be attached the auditorium and also filled with a large volume of smoke. The fire was quickly knocked down but the 3 Truck Companies were held for over an hour to ventilate the building. Crews on the exterior of the building had their own hazards to contend with as they endured a barrage of snow packed projectiles (snowballs) from concerned citizens throughout the incident. All is well again in East End.