Electricity compromised throughout the school

Despite all the work going on behind the scenes, it is back to school as usual for students at West Linn High School.

Classes and schedules are running normally, with a few adjustments, after the Oct. 8 three-alarm fire in the roof over the gyms.

The fire occurred when a maintenance worker was welding outside of the building last Monday and an arborvitae caught on fire from a spark. The flames then shot through an HVAC vent overhead.

To access the flames, firefighters had to cut through the wall and the roof. Though there is no real structural damage to the building, according to Director of Operations Tim Woodley, there are multiple electrical issues. There are also some wood beams that were charred by the flames that will need reinforcing.

The area primarily impacted by the fire was the roof above the kitchen between the auxiliary gym and the main gym. Smoke engulfed the entire building and water from the fire sprinklers and hoses penetrated down three floors.

Several electrical panels were compromised by water damage. There is temporary or emergency power everywhere in the building, Woodley said, and there are some areas where there is no power at all. Woodley added that all security and emergency systems are up and running, however.

According to Principal Lou Bailey, there is no access to the main gym, the auxiliary gym, the wrestling room, the dance studio, the weight room, the kitchen and the new commons area. The good news is there was very little damage to the wood flooring in the gyms and the dance studio.

Several classes are being affected, especially dance and weight classes. Bailey said the school is working to develop alternative locations for the classes, but right now the students are doing some classroom work and the outdoors are being used by PE classes.

There are several areas of infrastructure that have been compromised, including mechanical, electrical and plumbing. The kitchen and the locker rooms have the most damage, and will need to be gutted out and repaired.

With all the different components that need to be examined, a variety of work crews have been working nonstop at the school.

“There are hundreds of people crawling over this place,” Woodley said.

A demolition crew of about 40 people is working in the kitchen, the locker rooms and the common area. In the meanwhile, electricians and mechanical experts are addressing the infrastructure issues. On top of that, movers are cleaning out all the areas and bringing equipment to a facility that will clean items and store them until they are ready to be replaced back at the school.

“There’s all kinds of moving parts,” Woodley said.

Bailey hopes to gain access to the auxiliary gym and the weight room soon. Some of the spaces are cut off because there must be two accessible exits to each room and some doors are through the cut off gym. Complete construction is expected to last nearly two months.

“It’s all about egress and evacuation,” Bailey said. “Things are moving fast.”

The students have been flexible with the inconveniences and the changes. Last week’s homecoming dance was held in the commons instead of the gym.

“It’s an inconvenience, but their minds are back in school,” Bailey said.

On Monday, students were allowed into the locker rooms to retrieve their belongings. If they find items damaged, they can make claims with the district for replacement.

Bailey said he has received a lot of support from parents, adding he received many calls and emails last week with people concerned about student safety.

There are no costs associated yet with the damage to the school and its restoration.

According to Woodley, though there was a smaller, more contained fire in a boys bathroom last year, this is the largest school fire in the district since the gym at Willamette Primary School burned down in the 1980s.

TIDINGS PHOTOS: VERN UYETAKE