Jason PennockB次元官网网址檚 finger smudges black after running it along a table in the hallway at Savory elementary. ItB次元官网网址檚 hard to see, but a fine layer of soot clings most ledges and surfaces throughout the building.
A suspicious fire gutted SavoryB次元官网网址檚 office area Sunday morning, but by Tuesday restoration was well underway. Workers with Downs Construction have started the process of bagging studentsB次元官网网址� clothing and supplies in each desk and classroom. A temporary wall has sealed off the fire-damaged area from rest of the 45-year-old school.
B次元官网网址淒ust is on everything, all horizontal surfaces,B次元官网网址� said Pennock, the project manger for Downs Construction. B次元官网网址淚t will take about two weeks to clean this side, then weB次元官网网址檒l focus on the gym. The priority is to get kids back in the school.B次元官网网址�
Repairing the fire damaged rooms will take longer, especially if panels sealing in asbestos are cracked. The administration area is small and damage is estimated at less than $50,000, but Dennis Maloney, health and safety manager with Downs, said it will take time to form a repair plan due to the poor air quality.
B次元官网网址淭here will be air testing in the school before and after the kids come in here,B次元官网网址� Maloney said. B次元官网网址淚t is very detailed work. We want to make sure the kids are safe.B次元官网网址�
Savory teachers were allowed to collect books and teaching supplies from classrooms Tuesday afternoon in preparation for working in temporary space for two or three weeks. Happy Valley is taking Grade 3 to 6 in unused portable classrooms. Kids in kindergarten to Grade 2 have classroom space at nearby Crystal View elementary.
Teachers in the main floor classrooms wore dust masks while gathering supplies, and the residual smell of smoke hung in the air. The second level suffered far less smoke damage.
B次元官网网址淕oing into a new place with the kids will be a good adventure,B次元官网网址� laughed Grade 6 teacher Alex Reeve, while packing a box in the classroom heB次元官网网址檚 taught in since 1980. His class is relocating to Happy Valley. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e already planned hikes down the Galloping Goose and weB次元官网网址檒l get to do different things. We hope to have a fun few weeks, and then weB次元官网网址檒l be back.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a hassle but weB次元官网网址檒l make the best of it,B次元官网网址� remarked teacher Jack Showers. B次元官网网址淚t will be a fun little adventure going to Happy Valley. The three portables will be like our own little campus.B次元官网网址�
Grade 3-4 teacher Terry Kniert spent time figuring out which storybooks to bring along, out of dozens lining the shelf. After 31 years at Savory, he retired a few years ago, but came back as a teacher-on-call.
He worked at the school during its last fire in 1992, an arson lit by a student in the same area as the fire on Sunday. He didnB次元官网网址檛 expect another nearly 20 years later.
B次元官网网址淚 didnB次元官网网址檛 expect this at all, but I love this school and itB次元官网网址檚 great to come back,B次元官网网址� Kniert said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 great to come to a place thatB次元官网网址檚 like home, and itB次元官网网址檚 nice to help out.B次元官网网址�
The ongoing teacher job action hasnB次元官网网址檛 cropped up in planning or response to temporarily relocate teachers and students. Superintendent Jim Cambridge said the district administration has had nothing but co-operation and assistance from the teachersB次元官网网址� union.
Reeve, the Grade 6 teacher, said district staff have communicated well with teachers and weathered the crisis smoothly.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 impressed with the way the school district has dealt with it all. TheyB次元官网网址檝e made it really easy for us,B次元官网网址� Reeve said. B次元官网网址淐onsidering how bad it is, itB次元官网网址檚 been handled really well.B次元官网网址�
The fire at Savory is deemed suspicious, but Langford fire officials or West Shore RCMP havenB次元官网网址檛 released the suspected cause of the blaze, which was called in at 5:45 a.m. Sunday morning.
Police are investigating if a security alarm triggered at 3:45 a.m. the same morning is connected with the fire.
Anyone who may have seen people in the area around Savory school early Sunday morning are asked call West Shore RCMP at 250-474-2264 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
Parents should check out www.sd62.bc.ca for updates on the plan to temporarily relocate Savory students to different schools.
editor@goldstreamgazette.com
