Eight-year-old Joseph Jacquez admits few things could get him to go to school on a Saturday afternoon.
But a savage blaze drew Jacquez and hundreds of other students to West Jordan's Oquirrh Elementary on Saturday as 50-foot flames enveloped their classrooms. There were no injuries."I've been off for three weeks because I'm on year-round school, but I'm supposed to go back to school on Monday," said Jacquez, a second-grader at Oquirrh. "I guess I won't be going now. It makes me feel bad."
The four-alarm fire erupted about 3 p.m. at the north end of the school, blanketing the area with a heavy column of smoke that could be seen throughout the Salt Lake Valley.
Angela Bedoya de Munoz was driving through a nearby West Jordan neighborhood when she spotted flames leaping from the roof of the building at 7165 S. Paddington Dr. (3285 West).
"I guess the fire had just started because the fire trucks had not come yet, but it was already huge," said Bedoya de Munoz. "I told my daughter to drive me to the school, I couldn't believe what was hap-pen-ing."
Scores of firefighters arrived moments later and began an aggressive interior attack.
"Our initial report indicated the fire was in the rafters on the school's north end, so we sent in about 24 firefighters through the west end," said West Jordan Deputy Fire Chief B.J. Snooks. "There was so much smoke, and the heat was so intense that we could never actually get to the flames."
Crews cleared out a short time later when the roof began cracking, said Snooks.
Realizing much of the open-classroom school was likely beyond rescue, firefighters assumed a "surround and drown" strategy to contain the blaze. Crews atop ladders pelted the inferno with thousands of gallons of water for several hours, creating an arching rainbow against a canvas of black smoke.
Meanwhile, hundreds of West Jordan residents flocked to the 16-year-old building. Rubberneckers clogged neighboring roads while folks climbed on rooftops for a better view of the spectacle. Students on bikes and skateboards weaved through the crowd as parents speculated on where their kids would go to class Monday. (See adjacent box.)
By 6 p.m., the northwest section of the school's roof had collapsed and fresh crews were enlisted to douse hot spots. Two front-end loaders were used a short time later to knock down the school's blackened walls.
Although a conclusive investigation will likely take two or three days, officials don't think Saturday's blaze was the work of an arsonist. "There were no entry alarms that went off, and it looks like the fire started in the ceiling," said Snooks.
Despite the prospect of missing a few days of class, kids were generally saddened to see their school swallowed in flames.
"My pencils and homework are probably burned, and I'm supposed to turn in a library book next week," said one young girl.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Oquirrh Elementary closed Monday
Patty Dahl, Jordan School District spokeswoman, provided the following information after a fire Saturday destroyed Oquirrh Elementary School:
- Oquirrh Elementary will be closed to students Monday.
- In a public meeting at the district administration building in Sandy, 9400 South 300 East, at 3 p.m. Sunday, Superintendent Raymond Whittenburg, Principal Denis Lyons and the school board will discuss plans to house the approximately 900 students for the rest of the school year. Officials will meet with parent groups about 6 p.m., after the meeting.