MENLO PARK, Calif. -- A fire early Thursday ripped through a the main building at a private school on the Peninsula, destroying a third-grade classroom and several administrative offices.
The fire at Beechwood School was reported at 3:52 a.m., Fire Inspector Jon Johnston said. One of the school's buildings is a total loss, with a damage estimate of $300,000.
Johnston said a passer-by called 911 to report seeing smoke coming from the school. Firefighters arriving at the school determined there was a possibility the roof would collapse, so they battled the blaze from the outside, Johnston said.
During the fire, the roof did collapse. It took firefighters about two hours to bring the blaze under control, and just before 8 a.m., they were still extinguishing hot spots, Johnston said.
Principal David Laurance said the fire consumed Building 1, which housed all the administrative offices, as well as the third-grade classroom.
Laurance said he received a wake-up call from fire officials at about 4:30 a.m. and rushed to the school. When he arrived, he saw lots of smoke and flames shooting through the roof.
"It was clear it was a pretty serious situation," Laurance said.
No other classrooms were affected by the blaze.
"The way our campus is put together, it's pretty unlikely it would spread," Laurance said. "I was mostly thinking about that one building."
Laurance said the school will shut down for two days, and students will return to the classroom Monday.
Thursday afternoon, Menlo Park Fire Protection District Chief Harold Schapelhouman said a preliminary investigation indicated that the fire started in the school's kitchen and was likely sparked by a pinched electrical cord coming from the stove.
"It has electrical current going through it. Well, eventually it just wore down and shorted and poked through the insulation and started a fire," Schapelhouman said. "It does not appear to be suspicious or arson."
Laurance's most immediate challenge is to find a temporary space for the 18 third-graders whose room was destroyed. He is also worried about the "emotional toll" the students may experience.
Laurance also notes that the third-grade teacher lost all of her classroom materials in the blaze.
"She's really outstanding, pouring her heart and soul into it and the amount of time she's put into it, " Laurance said. "It's got to be hard for her to think about losing everything she's collected and created. The idea of starting over is pretty overwhelming."
As firefighters worked to put out smoldering hot spots, Anna Hodges and her 10-year-old son, Tiere, watched from a street behind the school.
Tiere, now a fifth-grade student at Beechwood, spent his third-grade year in the fire-ravaged building.
"It makes me sad," Tiere said. "I had a lot of good memories in that classroom. One of my favorite teachers works in that classroom, and it's sad to see it go away like that."
Hodges said the fire will likely cancel a back-to-school picnic planned for the weekend and has delayed a field trip scheduled Friday for fourth- and fifth-grade students.
Tiere said students were to visit a Redwood City company to learn about starting their own business. Tiere said students were going to make friendship bracelets and sell them for fake money.
Hodges said she is sad to see Beechwood's main building destroyed but believes the family-oriented school will be OK.
"Its going to take some time, but I'm sure we'll bounce back," Hodges said.
Gibby Smith, 25, came to the campus first thing Thursday morning after hearing his daughter's school was on fire. Smith's daughter, Danae, is a kindergarten student at Beechwood.
"She loves school and going to school," Smith said. "For her, it's really sad. She had the sad face on. But she'll be able to return on Monday."
Staff reporter Bonnie Eslinger contributed to this report. Contact Mark Gomez at 408-920-5869. Follow him on Twitter @MarkMgomez
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