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MEDIA ADVISORY FIRE
ADVISORY Advisory update regarding the fire that occurred in the Lab School on campus early this morning. There were no injuries but some property damage. University Relations will provide updates as available via Infomail, 278-4000 and FresnoStateNews.com.
FIRE UPDATE-Sept. 9 New ‘Homes’ Found For Classes Held in Fire- Damaged Lab School Room 128 The Academic Scheduling Office at Fresno State announced today that classrooms have been found for classes that were held in Lab School 128 effective Wednesday, Sept. 10 and for the remainder of the fall term. The room was damaged in yesterday’s fire at the Lab School. All other classes in the Lab School are scheduled to be open for Wednesday’s classes. Faculty offices will also be available again. Damage was sustained only in the north wing, containing Room 128 and some student services offices, which remain closed and staff has been re-located to emergency workstations until temporary buildings are erected next week. The University Relations office will announce the status of services provided by the Learning Resource Center, Student Support Services in the Student Affairs Division and McNair Program in Graduate Studies Division as soon as that information is available. The McNair Program provides services to a current cohort of 30 student scholars with more than 100 continuing scholars. “There is no McNair Office at this point,” said Dr. Vivian Vidoli, dean of Graduate Studies. “Most McNair office support activities including student computer research access are suspended until further notice. Students will be informed by e-mail about assignments and scheduled events that may be conducted elsewhere on campus including workshops and the McNair research Symposium scheduled for Sept. 18. Cancellation notices will also be issued through e-mail and/or web pages.”
Students and
faculty who have questions about these new classroom assignments
should contact their respective department or dean’s office: FIRE UPDATE – 6 p.m.
AFFECTED AREA: The Lab School, built in
1953 and remolded in 1975, is located on Keats and Jackson Avenues
on the south central side of the campus. It is the third-oldest
building on campus but since it was the first to hold classrooms, it
houses the oldest classrooms on campus. It served as the first
Fresno State Normal School at this location and was a training
laboratory for elementary school teachers.
Today Lab School classes serve several disciplines but its primary occupants are the Department of Communicative Disorders and Deaf Studies, the Learning Resource Center, Student Support Services and the Ronald E. McNair Program. The 18,618 square foot complex consists of four wings and one stand-alone building. Seven classrooms of varying sizes hold 1,976 students for the fall 2003 semester. Room 128, the most severely damaged in the fire, holds 10 classes totaling 270 students this semester. Offices heavily damaged are the Learning Resource Center, the Student Support Services and McNair with approximately 1,500 students affected by the fire. Twelve (12) professional staff and 40 student staff were affected. 14 Communicative Disorders and Deaf Studies faculty offices were closed down, one department office and one clinic. 100 clients were scheduled to come to campus for the first day of the fall Speech and Hearing Clinic operated by the Dept. of Communicative Disorders and Deaf Studies. All were notified that appointments were postponed until next Monday and Tuesday (Sept. 15 and 16). FIRE was reported at 2:52 a.m. Sept. 8 by two Fresno Bee newspaper delivery people and a campus custodian, with full response by the Fresno Fire Department on scene by 2:58 a.m. On-scene witnesses reported that the fire was centered in the central breezeway of the building near a bank of vending machines. The fire was a two-alarm fire that prompted the response of four fire trucks and ten engines. The fire spread into an attic area of the lab school's central wing. Other sections of the building were unaffected, but were closed while fire crews worked. Power was shut off in the entire lab school complex as well as the adjacent University High School main building, causing cancellation of many of its classes today as well as all Fresno State classes in the Lab School and support services located there. CAUSE: The University has not received any official report of the cause. The fire is still under investigation by the state fire marshal and an official report is not expected for a few weeks. DAMAGE: The insured value of the entire Lab School complex is $4.7 million. Since a third of the complex was damaged, university officials estimate the damage at about $1.5 million to the structure only (content not included) but caution that this is only a general ballpark figure since the investigation and inventory is still underway. STATUS: Only one of seven classrooms was damaged beyond use while two offices received extensive fire damage and two more received heavy smoke and water damage. The damaged offices and the one classroom (room 128), all in the north wing, will be moved to a temporary building by next week. In the meantime, the affected offices are working out of emergency locations provided by other departments on campus. The temporary structure will be erected on the west side of the Leon S. Peters Business Building on the east side of the campus to house student services offices. The university's Plant Operations is working to make these arrangements and plans to have a full report on this by the end of the week. Offices moving to the temporary building are indicated below. Most classes and faculty offices in the Lab School will continue to operate there once it is re-opened. The following classrooms, offices or programs are affected as follows CLASSROOMS in the Lab School will remain closed on Tuesday (Sept. 9) but six of the seven will reopen for classes on Wednesday (Sept. 10). They are rooms 101, 108, 163, 171, 177 and 181. The classroom receiving the worst damage, Room 128, will not reopen this semester. Efforts are underway to locate an emergency room by Wednesday also with plans to move into the temporary structure next week. OFFICES - Student services offices (Resource Learning Center, Student Support Services and the McNair Program) will also remain closed Tuesday. However, employees have received instructions and emergency workstations while recovery efforts are underway. Student Affairs plans to resume services to students by Wednesday in various emergency offices on campus that will be announced when finalized. These offices will also be housed in the temporary structures beginning next week. Communicative Disorders and Deaf Studies faculty offices will re-open Wednesday also. UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL will resume classes on Tuesday (Sept. 9). The UHS main building, while in the same location as the complex, is not connected and received no damage other than loss of power causing cancellation of classes today. Updates will be posted at the university information hotline 278-4000 or at FresnoStateNews.com. 5 p.m. Update The Lab School Building will remain closed at least until Wednesday Sept. 10. Classes in the Lab School Building on Tuesday Sept. 9 are canceled but expected to resume Wednesday Sept. 10. Room numbers 101, 108, 163, 171, 177, and 181. Most offices and programs have been moved to emergency workstations and may resume services on Wednesday pending recovery progress. Employees are to report to work at established emergency workstations. They may direct questions to their supervisors or respective deans. Fresno State students seeking the affected support services will be notified when those services resume through the university’s communications channels: the 278-4000 info hotline and www.FresnoStateNews.com University High School will resume classes on Tuesday. The Speech and Hearing Clinic operated by the Dept. of Communicative Disorders and Deaf Studies, scheduled to begin appointments today and Tuesday, will begin those appointments next Monday Sept. 15. Updates will be posted at the university information hotline 278-4000 and at FresnoStateNews.com.
9:00 a.m. Update
regarding the Learning Resource Center: 8:30 a.m. Update: All campus roads are reopened to campus traffic following this morning's fire at the Lab School at Fresno State.
6:00 a.m. Update: Faculty and staff of the Fresno
State Communicative Disorders and Deaf Studies Dept. who have offices in
the Lab School will not be able to access their offices today. Those
employees should check-in to the Dean's Office in the McLane Hall Room
178 upon arriving on campus.
Communicative Disorders and Deaf Studies faculty and staff who have patients scheduled to come to the Lab School should contact them immediately to postpone those appointments. The Learning Resources Center is closed. Student Affairs is currently determining where services will be relocated. Check back with www.FresnoStateNews.com for the location...they plan to have a new location identified by this afternoon. FACT NOTICE: The fire occurred only in the Lab School, located at Keats and Jackson Ave., east of the Health Center (not in Speech Arts Building as some news reports indicated. 5:30 a.m. News Item: Due to today's fire in the lab school at Fresno State, the following actions are being implemented: Classes and all activities held in the Lab School are canceled for today, including those University High School classes that are held in the main building located next to the Lab School. However, UHS classes held in other locations on the Fresno State campus will still be held. All other classes and activities will proceed as scheduled. The Lab School is located at Keats and Jackson Ave, east of the Health Center. Traffic Advisory: Updates will be posted at the university information hotline 278-4000 or at www.FresnoStateNews.com. MEDIA INFORMATION: Parking for Media is Lot E north of the Health Center. Media may enter on Barton Avenue. Fire Background info: (This information will be updated as additional facts are known) The fire was reported at 2:52 a.m. by two Fresno Bee newspaper delivery people and a campus custodian, with full response by the fire department on scene by 2:58 a.m. On-scene witnesses reported that the fire was centered in the central breezeway of the building near a bank of vending machines. The fire was a two alarm fire that prompted the response of four fire trucks and ten engines. The fire spread into an attic area of the lab school's central wing. Other sections of the building were unaffected, but are closed while fire crews are working. Power is off in the entire lab school complex. Two classrooms were most heavily damaged, located on the west side of the central wing of the lab school. The building houses speech and communicative disorders and a variety of faculty offices. The lab school is one of the older buildings on campus, dating from the early 1950's. At that time the building was used as a laboratory elementary school for the university's School of Education. ###
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