A three-alarm blaze badly burned one third of the East Somerville Community School (ESCS) on the morning of Dec. 9, forcing the school to close indefinitely.
The fire occurred at approximately 4 a.m. and it "appears to be non-suspicious," according Gretchen Kinder, a spokesperson for the Somerville Public Schools. She said the cause had not been officially determined. The State Fire Marshal and Somerville Fire Department suspect that the fire may have been related to a malfunctioning heating unit.
"The fire started in room 108 of the school, and that's in the southeast quadrant of the building," Kinder said. "That quadrant has essentially been rendered useless."
Although the structural engineering assessment is currently incomplete, the fire seems to have been hot enough to melt concrete and twist the steel beams, according to Kinder. No classes are currently being held in the school.
There is talk of a possible need to demolish the entire building and rebuild it from the ground up.
"They really don't know if the building has to come down or not," Maureen Bastardi, the Ward 1 representative on the Somerville School Committee, told the Daily. "We're just in the beginning stages. [The relocated students] will probably be there for a very long time. There is not a single part of the school that was not affected physically by the fire," she said.
Due to the high concentration of paper and other extremely flammable material, a "one-inch thick coating of ash [settled] on everything throughout the school building as the soot and ash traveled through the heating duct system," Kinder said.
Somerville firefighters combated the blaze at the 120,000-square-foot elementary school, along with help from the fire departments of Boston, Cambridge, Medford and Everett, according to a Dec. 9 press release from Somerville Public Schools.
Between 10 and 20 classrooms are unusable. A comprehensive assessment of every classroom is underway to determine what is salvageable, Kinder said.
"There are approximately 34 classrooms that have been relocated," according to Kinder. Kindergarten students resumed school at the Capuano Early Childhood Center on Dec. 17, while first through eighth grades started on Dec. 19.
The 585 first- through eighth-grade students have been relocated to classrooms in three locations. Students in first through fifth grades, as well as sixth graders in an English-Spanish bicultural program, were transferred to the Edgerly Education Center. Students in sixth through eighth grades, excluding the sixth graders in the Unidos Program, were sent to 42 Prescott St., a building that once served as the Cummings School.
Somerville is trying to keep classes united during the displacement. "It is our intention to keep students and teachers together during the temporary relocation period as we rebuild," Superintendent of Somerville Public Schools Tony Pierantozzi said in a press release.
"Not that the timing is ever good for a fire, but if you had to have one, it was good timing because there were these two empty buildings," East Somerville Principal Holly Hatch told the Daily. The majority of students were relocated to within two blocks of the school.
"We're sorry that we can't stay together in the same building," because of the effect it has on relationships between students, Hatch said. She said she wants to restore the previous level of leadership that older students provided to younger students.
The school has been doing "an enormous amount of fundraising," Kinder said. About $7,000 had been raised to help support teachers in recreating classroom materials, largely in unsolicited cash donations.
Due to help from volunteers and donors throughout the community, each student was provided with a goody bag containing all the school supplies he or she needed.
Hatch said that the Somerville Public Schools have worked hard to get the school back into working condition. "Everyone in the central office has just done everything to get us back running," Hatch said.
There has been an outpouring of support from local businesses, community members, alumni and parents. Parents organized 120 free daycare slots at local providers for students whose parents work.
"You realize how many people are involved" when $7,000 of donations are composed of $10 and $25 checks, Kinder said.
A fundraiser is being hosted by the Somerville Chamber of Commerce tomorrow at the Holiday Inn in Somerville. It starts at 6:00 p.m. and features free bands and locally-provided food. The suggested donation is $25, but any amount is welcome.
Mayor Joseph Curtatone has pledged to rebuild the school, but "no one has any idea at this stage in the game" what that entails, Kinder said. Since the engineering assessments have not been completed, it is unclear whether the school will be completely rebuilt or even whether the rest of the building is salvageable.
Despite the uncertainty, "I believe that Joe [Curtatone] is a man of his word, and he's been with this since the get-go. ... Whatever needs to be done, he'll make sure it's done," said Bastardi, the Ward 1 representative.
The school is working to restore mentorship to younger students and replace classroom supplies through constant fundraising.
In order to help, donors can "adopt" a classroom or student, donate money and donate school and classrooms supplies. Kinder can be contacted for information on how to help at gkinder@k.12.somerville.ma.us.
