Seawell Elementary School students displaced after the school experienced a fire in a mechanical room will remain in their temporary classrooms for a few more weeks.

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district issued an update to families of Seawell Elementary on Friday afternoon to share the latest details of fire cleanup and instruction for affected third, fourth, and fifth graders. The students are expected to continue using their temporary learning spaces — which include empty classrooms, library areas, the cafeteria at both Seawell Elementary, the nearby Smith Middle School and UNC’s Carolina Center for Educational Excellence — through Friday, February 2.

A fire on the night of January 8 in the mechanical/HVAC room of the Lawler/B-building on the school’s campus burnt equipment in the room and caused smoke damage through some of the facility. CHCCS officials asked students who have class in the building to stay home the following day as district crews assessed the damage, and then issued the temporary instruction plan for Wednesday, January 10.

Since then, CHCCS said maintenance teams and contractors have been working to clean the mechanical room, wipe down surfaces exposed to smoke, replace ceiling tiles and ventilation systems, and more to eliminate “any foul odors or contaminants resulting from the fire.” The district shared a video in its Friday update showing some of those efforts, and sharing thoughts from Seawell Elementary School Principal Minnie Goins and CHCCS Chief Operations Officer Andre’ Stewart.

In its emailed message to Seawell families on Friday, CHCCS said the extension of temporary learning space is needed for ordering and installing replacement parts for the fire-damaged equipment in the Lawler/B-building, as well as ample time for air quality testing in the facility.

Affected third and fourth grade students will continue to receive instruction in different available areas in Seawell Elementary School during class time, while fifth grade students will continue to be walked to Smith Middle School and classrooms at the Carolina Center for Educational Excellence. Those at Smith Middle’s campus will continue to eat lunches there and families are required to continue dropping off and picking up students at Seawell Elementary School instead of Smith Middle.

 

Photo via Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.

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