Wyandotte High students resume learning, but not in the classroom. Here’s why
Students will return to classes, albeit remotely, at Wyandotte High School after a small fire caused smoke damage to the historic building, a Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools’ spokesman said Tuesday.
Classes were canceled both Monday and Tuesday, and the district’s staff worked out of the district’s Central Office on Tuesday to prepare for students to resume learning virtually, said Markl Johnson, director of communications and marketing for the district.
“There’s barely any visible damage,” Johnson said in an email. “There is a great deal of smoke damage that saturated the curtains in the auditorium, as well as soot on the walls in the auditorium, and the stairwell, which also seeped into the upper floor hallways.”
A closet door where the fire took place will have to be replaced, Johnson said. The cost of the damages has not been determined yet, as the remediation and clean up process is ongoing.
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Firefighters responded about 11:20 p.m. Friday to the school at 2501 Minnesota Avenue, after an automatic fire alarm was triggered.
After entering the building, firefighters began a “systematic search” for the fire as the alarm panel did not specify a specific location of the fire, said Assistant Chief Scott Schaunaman, a spokesman for the Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department, in an email.
During the search, firefighters detected a smoke odor and observed it accumulating in the auditorium. Firefighters found the smoke was coming from a storage closet beneath a stairwell, where a plastic cleaning cart was found smoldering, Schaunaman said.
Firefighters quickly extinguished the smoldering fire using a fire extinguisher.
“The primary challenge was ventilating smoke that had spread throughout the auditorium and into adjacent second- and third-floor areas,” Schaunaman said.
The fire was contained to the closet, resulting in minimal damage. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The school district is testing the air quality in the auditorium and throughout the building, Johnson said. Test results from an industrial hygienist, who checked air quality and the amount of smoke and soot residue remaining, were expected back on Tuesday.
“The results from today will help clean-up crews know what the rest of the week will look like for them,” Johnson said.
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In a letter sent home to parents and staff, Wyandotte High School principal Brian Guliford wrote that the school would remain closed to both students and staff this week as a continued precaution.
“This decision allows additional time for ongoing remediation, cleanup, and comprehensive air quality testing to take place in impacted and surrounding areas of the building,” Guliford wrote.
The district asked students to complete a “Check-In” form to evaluate each student’s technical needs. Once it received that information, the school planned to inform students and families about expectations for the remainder of the week.
Around 1,900 students are enrolled at the school, according to the Kansas State Department of Education’s latest data.
“We understand that this situation may be disruptive, and we sincerely appreciate your patience, flexibility, and support as we work through this unique challenge,” Guliford wrote.
