KAMLOOPS — Parents, children, support staff and teachers are trying to come to terms with a fire that burned down Parkcrest Elementary School on Thursday night. Two custodians and a teacher were inside the school when the fire broke out in one of the oldest schools in town. Alerted by the fire alarm, they were able to escape unharmed. Students, parents and support staff watched while their school burned.
“CUPE BC knows how important every school is to their community, the students who attend them, and the support staff who work there,” said CUPE BC General Vice President Nicole Edmondson.
“It’s a family school and now it’s gone. It’s sad,” adds Edmondson who is also president of CUPE 3500 representing approximately 800 K-12 support workers in Kamloops and surrounding communities including Chase, Barriere, Logan Lake, Westwold, Savona and Clearwater.
The fire directly affects 15 members of CUPE Local 3500 who support the 340 students in the community school. The District is working with the City on finding alternative space to hold classes as there is no space available in any other schools in Kamloops. Their priority is to keep families together and to find locations close to home.
Edmondson praised the quick response by the District. She noted that the District will also reimburse the losses to the two custodians who lost personal property and had possible damage to a vehicle.