Remediation work at Westmount elementary expected to start in new year

School remediation to begin

Photo: Josh Dawson

Westmount Elementary School has been closed until further notice following a fire that is believed to have been set intentionally.

Remediation work at Westmount elementary is expected to get underway in the coming weeks after a fire broke out on the roof earlier this year, displacing hundreds of students to neighbouring schools.

Kamloops Fire Rescue crews put out a blaze burning on the roof of Westmount elementary shortly before 1 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 26. The school has been closed since the fire and Westmount's 250 students have resumed classes at three nearby schools.

SD73 superintendent Mike McKay said the tender process is underway and remediation work is expected to start in the new year.

“The good news is that all of the mitigation around the contamination in the air and so on will be fully taken care of, if it hasn’t already been, in the next short while,” he said.

“So the crews can get in and do what they need to do to repair and restore.”

He said district staff are working to make sure the school will reopen as soon as possible.

Westmount Parent Advisory Council chair Jelena Hansen said it's been a big change for the school's community but the students have been "stellar" in adapting. She said parents and students are settling into their new schedules.

In January, Hansen said the PAC will receive an updated timeline for when the school will reopen.

"It's going as well as it can in the situation we're in and everyone's transitioning nicely and hopefully we'll be back by spring break is I think the hope for everybody," she said.

She said the school community came together for the first time since the fire for its annual Christmas sing-along and followed it up with a free Kamloops Blazers game, courtesy of some free tickets from the WHL team.

"I feel like everyone was just happy to be there, lots of smiles and treats and just catching up with everybody — it was just a wholesome moment," she said.

McKay said Christmas celebrations for Westmount students and staff are continuing at the three receiving schools, and he said its “a celebration itself” the way the schools’ communities have banded together.

He said the Westmount PAC and school staff have been “great resources” and have provided “critical information and suggestions.”

“Everyone’s going the extra mile to make sure that there’s a good, positive feeling and we want to maintain that,” he said.

“We’re grateful for all of the efforts, it makes a difference to the kids and to the staff."

In November, SD73 said testing revealed the fire caused asbestos to be disturbed, which pushed the timeline for cleanup beyond the Christmas break.

Mounties have said the fire is believed to have been set intentionally and a person was seen on the roof of the school at the time it was sparked.