Sunday’s blaze could cost district nearly $1 million
Morgan Hill – Sunday’s fire at Britton Middle School is still under investigation by fire officials and the Morgan Hill Unified School District has yet to decide what will happen with the now boarded-up girls’ locker room.
Santa Clara County firefighters have deemed the 9:30am blaze suspicious, but are not yet ready to call it an act of arson until the investigation is complete.
Britton Principal Russom Mesfun said he was devastated with the destruction of the school that was perhaps purposely set on fire.
“It’s very disturbing to me to think that someone would do this,” he said. “I can’t imagine why someone would inflict this upon our school.”
Mesfun said he and his staff are conducting their own investigation, looking “very closely” at the information they have.
“We’re looking at hints, looking at everything,” he said. “We have very active, very excellent student supervisors who have their ear to the ground at all times. We will find out if this is from within or without. We want to find out for sure, find out who this person is.”
County firefighters originally estimated the damage to the portable building next to the gym at $500,000. Mesfun said he is no expert, but the damage appeared to be mainly to the outside wall of the portable used as the girls’ locker room.
“Visibly, the walls of the girls locker room were pretty much burned, but the fire did not get as far as lockers,” he said. “The smoke, however, did penetrate. For safety purposes, we advised parents and students that we would not be issuing back their clothing, as it has been contaminated.”
The school is inquiring into reimbursing families for the students’ gym clothing through insurance, Mesfun said.
The building also contained a weight room and an office.
MHUSD Director of Facilities Collette McLaughlin said the district is gathering data before making a decision about the building.
Facilities Supervisor Anessa Pasillas said the district has requested tests to determine if the building contains asbestos and lead. The tests could be completed and results returned to the district by Monday or Tuesday, she added.
Director of Construction and Modernization Al Solis said he was given a damage estimate of $400,000 by a fire inspector. If the district decides to gut the building and rebuild it, which may be possible because it has a structural steel frame, the cost could be in the neighborhood of 285 per square foot plus an additional 10 percent, or approximately $650,000.
Solis also said the insurance company may recommend tearing it down and rebuilding from scratch, which could cost $800,000 to $900,000.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@mo*************.com.
