Students aren’t expected to be back at Carihi Secondary in Campbell River until next Monday after a fire shut the school down Friday.
The fire was contained to the school’s A wing, which houses some classrooms, the gym, the multi-purpose room, the stage and the teaching kitchen — with the latter the possible area where the fire started.
District superintendent Geoff Manning said Tuesday the hope is that the other parts of school will be ready for use by the end of the week, after a third-party specialist tests them for air quality — a WorkSafeBC requirement.
“We’re hoping to have that all complete by Thursday and get staff in the building on Friday, and all students back on Monday,” he said.
Manning said about 30 per cent of the school’s 922 students won’t have classrooms to return to, since about 13 teaching spaces were lost in the fire, so other schools will temporarily house some of the students. “We’re in the process of trying to organize all that right now.”
Cleaning, airing out and replacing air filters has been ongoing, the school district said, and support staff worked through the weekend and beyond to restore power, heat and water to unaffected areas of the building.
“Air scrubbers are running continuously to ensure acceptable air quality before staff and students return,” the district said in a statement.
A wing has been sealed to prevent access, as has the B wing, which sustained smoke and water damage
Space is being sought in the community for extracurricular programs, athletics, choir, band and theatre.
Home games for sport teams are being changed to away games to avoid cancellations, Manning said.
“We’re trying to fulfill all of the obligations that we possible can, at either an alternate location or with rescheduling.”
Carihi is one of two secondary schools in the district; the other is Timberline Secondary.
The cause of the fire hasn’t been determined, and the Campbell River Fire Department, Campbell River RCMP and insurance providers continue to investigate, the district said.
Campbell River Fire Chief Dan Verdun said the investigation is taking time due in part to the complexities of the fire.
That includes the older construction of much of the school, which dates back to the late 1960s, and the fact that it has been renovated several times, he said.
Those factors also affected firefighters’ access to the blaze, Verdun said.
“We found ourselves on the roof having to access it from the roof structure,” he said. “Just the way the fire travelled through the building, based on the way it was constructed, made it unique.”
