After months of investigation, arson investigators have a
suspect in a fire at Britton Middle School last year, according to
Morgan Hill police Cmdr. David Swing.
School fire last May destroyed locker rooms
Morgan Hill – After months of investigation, arson investigators have a suspect in a fire at Britton Middle School last year, according to Morgan Hill police Cmdr. David Swing.
Swing told members of the City Council/School District Liaison Committee at a meeting last week that Dennis Johnsen, arson investigator for Santa Clara County Fire Department, said a juvenile suspect had been identified in the May 30, 2006, blaze.
Because the suspect is a juvenile, police and fire officials cannot release the name of the suspect. It was not clear by presstime Thursday if the family of the juvenile would be responsible for any payment to the district for damages.
County firefighters originally estimated the damage to the portable building next to the gym at $500,000. The walls of the girls’ locker room were burned, but the fire did not reach the lockers. The smoke, however, did penetrate, and for safety reasons, school officials told parents and students their clothing in the lockers was not returned to them because it was contaminated.
The building also contained a weight room and an office.
Morgan Hill Unified School District board members voted during their Feb. 13 meeting to approve funding and plans by district staff to use insurance money to build a combined 4,000-square-foot boys’ and girls’ locker room complex at Britton Middle School. The new construction would replace the girls’ locker room and the boys’ locker room, which needs renovating.
The new locker room is expected to be completed by August 2008. Currently, students are using portables and the run-down boys’ locker room.
The district’s insurance company is expected to pay to replace the burned building, which could cost approximately $3.5 million.
District officials have proposed spending an additional $1.2 million to build the consolidated facility on the site of the former pool on campus, which has been filled in. The new 4,492-square-foot facility, which would house the boys’ and girls’ locker rooms, has been estimated to cost $4.7 million. The estimate includes the costs for soil preparation, facility design, engineering, testing, inspection, bidding and construction management.
