Students are already returning to Salpointe Catholic High School after a fire broke out on the campus Sunday night.
All activities scheduled on campus are back up and running after the school announced Monday it was closed until further notice, said Jennifer Harris, the director of advancement at the school. Athletic teams, the dance team and the band have all returned to campus near East Glenn Street and North Mountain Avenue.
The fire started in the attic space above an English classroom and spread throughout the wing of the building, according to a news release from the school. Smoke and water damage were also present throughout two other wings.
There is no damage estimate, but a fire official said the repair costs could be expected to run into the millions, based on the building size and amount work that would be needed for full repairs, the Arizona Daily Star previously reported.
The two-alarm fire started around 8:10 p.m. Sunday. It was under control about an hour later.
On Tuesday, restoration started on the building that suffered smoke and water damage, Harris said. Those classrooms are expected to be up and functional by the time school starts next month.
Harris said there are no plans to switch to remote learning. The six classrooms damaged in the fire will be relocated elsewhere on campus, she said.
“Out of the 40-acre campus, there really is just a relatively small corner that won’t be able to be restored before school starts,” Harris said. “We have a bit of a job ahead of us, but we are very optimistic, and we are really feeling like we will be ready to accommodate our 1,250 students in August when they return for classes.”
As of Wednesday morning, the fire cause was still under investigation.
The Tucson Fire Department responded to a fire at Salpointe Catholic High School on Sunday night, July 17. The fire was elevated to a two-alarm fire. There were no injuries reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Video by: Mamta Popat, Arizona Daily Star
