Fire extends AlWood students' winter break

AlWood Middle/High School students got an extra day of winter vacation Monday after smoke from a Dec. 30 fire damaged 90 percent of the school, said Supt. Shannon Bumann.

Students returned to classes Tuesday, thanks to around-the-clock cleanup efforts.

Four cleanup crews continued Monday to paint and scrub more than 70,000 square feet affected by the blaze. Somewhere between 40 and 60 people from Werner Restoration in Colona had been working 12-hour days since the morning after the fire, Bumann said.

“They started right away. Werner had equipment in the school by 10 a.m. Thursday,” he said.

He said Monday the cause of the fire appeared to be an electric stove burner, either left on or “accidentally bumped.” The burner, which was in a home economics classroom not used this year, ignited material around the stove.

For the rest of this story, see the Jan. 7 Galva News.