Arson may be to blame for a fire in a Rockland dormitory Thursday where nearly 20 teenage boys were allegedly trapped inside.

Hillcrest Fire Chief Kim Weppler says the afternoon fire at the Yeshiva Avir Yakov in New Square started in a garbage pail in a second-floor hallway of a dormitory.

The school and dorm were supposed to be closed for the Passover holiday, but when firefighters arrived, they found students trapped inside, and the front door locked. Several exits were found to have been padlocked from both the outside and inside.

New Square Public Safety Coordinator Aron Kaff denies the students were in danger. "[The dorm] was completely open, and no one was trapped in the building."