Car fire forces school to scrub out gymnasium

Car fire forces school to scrub out gymnasium
By Dan Hilborn, Burnaby NOW assistant editor
Published Dec. 15, 2002

Cleanup crews and maintenance workers have been scrubbing residue off the walls and using heavy-duty fans to blow the smoky smell out of the 'large gym' after a fire at Alpha secondary last week.
The repairs have been ongoing since a stolen car was set on fire outside the gymnasium's doors in the early hours of Dec. 5, confirmed school board spokesperson David Wiebe.
"There was no damage to the school, but the smoke seeped in close to the doors of the gymnasium," Wiebe said. "We had the fans in there, but that's tricky work because of the high ceiling, and the air doesn't flow out that easily."
The stolen 2000 Honda Civic was apparently raced around the school before being abandoned near the doors of the gymnasium and set on fire. Neighbours who heard the commotion and saw the fire called the police and fire departments around 4 a.m.
Wiebe said the disruption to students was not as serious as it otherwise might have been because Alpha does have a second smaller gym. However, physical education classes were forced to relocate and several school basketball games were either rescheduled or played elsewhere.
The disruption also affected rehearsals for the Christmas concert.
The total cost of the cleanup work is estimated at about $10,000, Wiebe said.
The fire did little to slow down the Alpha senior boys' basketball team, whose Monday afternoon game was relocated to the gym of their crosstown rival Burnaby Mountain secondary. The Alpha Aztecs still won the game by a convincing 101-55 score.