According to an email sent to families of students attending Carihi Secondary School, the school will not be opened to students earlier than Dec. 2.
A late-night fire on Nov. 21 was contained to the A-wing of the school, which contains the gym, mezzanine, a multi-purpose room, teaching kitchen, the stage and some classrooms. Smoke and water have damaged the B-wing of the school.
"While we initially hoped to reopen the school to students this week, we are still waiting for air quality testing to be completed by an independent third party, as required by WorkSafeBC. This testing is crucial before school staff can re-enter the building," reads the email. "We anticipate receiving occupancy approval for school staff to access the unaffected portions of the school by late Thursday, Nov. 28. Our goal is to have students return to in-person learning on Monday, Dec. 2."
According to the email, the damaged sections have been sealed off to prevent access. The front of the gym and B-wing are also fenced off.
Operations and support staff have restored power, heat and water to unaffected areas of the school.
In addition, cleaning and airing out, replacing air filters, and running air scrubbers continuously in the undamaged areas are underway to ensure safe air quality.
"Today, Nov. 26, school staff are meeting to plan for the return of students next week," reads the email. "Teachers will connect with students to check in and support students until in-person classes resume. Our priority remains on providing equitable access to learning opportunities and supporting students in their academic progress."
Thirteen teaching spaces were affected by the fire. The school estimated it would be one to two months before B-wing could be fully operational. They did not give a timeline for A-wing other than it will take longer for it to be restored.
"We are actively exploring temporary classroom spaces and community facilities to accommodate extracurricular programs, athletics, and choir."
