The fire that damaged Carihi Secondary in Campbell River last month was the result of spontaneous combustion, the Campbell River School District says.
The blaze, which was reported about 11 p.m. on Nov. 21, was the result of a reaction between cooking oils on fabrics, heat after laundering and inadequate ventilation, the district said in a statement.
No arson or other suspicious activity was involved, the district said. No one was injured in the fire.
The district said it will be reviewing how it does laundry to keep similar incidents from happening in the future.
“We remain grateful for the swift response of the Campbell River and Courtenay fire departments in keeping the fire contained, and the coverage provided by the Oyster River fire department,” the district said.
Students were sidelined for more than a week after the fire, which was contained to a wing of the school that includes classrooms, the gym, the stage and the teaching kitchen — where the fire is believed to have started.
Another wing was damaged by smoke and water.
Almost a third of the school’s 922 students who were left without classroom space were temporarily moved to other schools in the district, including the former Oyster River school, which is serving as the main temporary site for classes.
Some of those students are still at alternate locations, as the repairs to Carihi’s B-wing, which has smoke and water damage, are expected to take up to two months, while repairs to the more seriously damaged A-wing will take much longer, the district said.
Campbell River Fire Chief Dan Verdun said the fire investigation was time-consuming due to complexities like older construction of much of the school, which dates to the 1960s.
