A fire at the Kinnaird Elementary School on May 24 was quickly extinguished by the Castlegar Fire Department.
The fire started around the school’s dismissal time.
According to Fire Chief Sam Lattanzio, the fire appears to have started from a light fixture in the school’s gymnasium. When firefighters arrived on scene, there was also a small fire on the gym floor that was quickly extinguished.
Everyone was safely evacuated from the building and no one was injured.
The school was closed Thursday, May 25, but Kootenay-C0lumbia School District 20 says it will reopen on Friday, May 26.
Air quality testing was conducted and all areas of the school have testing results within the normal limits, according to SD20.
The gym will not be accessible while the district’s operations team works to complete the restoration work required.
Last year, a very similar scenario played out at Stanley Humphries Secondary School. Just after school dismissal on March 17, 2022, a light fixture in the gymnasium caught fire.
This is the fourth fire CFD has attended since Friday. There was a minor electrical structure fire on May 19. Around 5:30 a.m. on Sunday morning (May 21) CFD put out an abandoned campfire that had spread to the surrounding landscape in the area behind the Dairy Queen near Woodland Park. A few hours later, a home near Stanley Humphries Secondary School was destroyed by fire.
More to come …
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betsy.kline@castlegarnews.com
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