Sunny Freeman
Vancouver Sun
Sunday, March 02, 2008
VANCOUVER - A "stubborn" two-alarm blaze early this morning caused damage to Vancouver's oldest school structure, leaving 40 kindergarten students without a classroom.
Firefighters were called to Sir Guy Carleton elementary school at about 12:30 a.m. on reports of a dumpster fire and instead found black smoke pouring from an annex building about 25 metres from the main school, said battalion chief Howard Brown of the Vancouver Fire Department.
The fire started on the porch and spread up to the attic, where it was contained.
The designated heritage building, which housed two kindergarten classes, was one of Vancouver's original schools and is more than 110 years old. The building was the site's original two-room schoolhouse and it opened in 1896 as Vancouver East School.
About 30 firefighters had the fire knocked down by 2:30 a.m. But some were on scene, at the southwest corner of Kingsway and Joyce, until 4 a.m. putting out small flames in the attic, said Brown. The roof was charred but not burned off.
"There is considerable water and smoke damage to the classroom areas," he said. Brown said he didn't believe the building could be used again this year.
There will be no classes today for the 40 children who were housed in the yellow schoolhouse, said Clarence Hansen, chairman of the Vancouver school board.
"We're hoping to work with the principal and superintendent to see if additional staff is needed and relocate the [Kindergartners] in another part of the main building [by Tuesday]," he said.
He said restoration experts will examine the scene today to determine the cost of restoring the historic building. The board also is working with its insurers to assess the dollar value of the damages.
Val Hamilton, who taught at Carleton elementary for seven years and wrote a book on the history of Vancouver schools, said she was shocked when she heard the historic building had burned.
She said the small wooden building is the oldest existing school structure left in Vancouver.
"I hope it's not destroyed," she said. "It's such an irreplaceable piece of Vancouver history."
Alvin Lau has lived across the street from the school for almost 20 years. He said he feels a personal connection to the building because he and many members of his family sat in the two-room schoolhouse.
He said he saw six to eight fire trucks at the fire. He rushed over with his camera. "When I was standing there, my clothes were drenched with the smell of smoke."
Lau said the blaze was mostly contained inside the building but there were flames shooting out of vents near the roof. "The whole thing was made of wood, making it vulnerable to destruction."
"It was the original home school of the entire community... It was a hidden treasure in the community. It was tragic to see it burn," said Lau.
Brown said he could not comment on reports that the fire was caused by arson. The department's investigations department was sifting through the damage Sunday trying to determine the cause.
sfreeman@png.canwest.com
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