Image Credit: CFJC Today

By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: Parkcrest fire report raises a new set of important questions

Dec 20, 2019 | 12:32 PM

HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW about the fire that destroyed Parkcrest Elementary School in September: The fire started in the space between the drop ceiling and the roof, and while firefighters can’t pinpoint an exact cause, the location points to either electrical or the HVAC system.

So that begs the question if those systems had been showing hints of instability before that.

Sure enough, the fire investigator confirms there had been previous reports of fire incidents at Parkcrest.

In a bizarre turn, superintendent Alison Sidow says these incidents were not in fact fires.

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: Protecting what matters most to British Columbians

8h ago

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: Increased online visibility helps Kamloops businesses profit from demand for local brands

12h ago

The Tattle of Hastings

THE TATTLE OF HASTINGS: Retired official Ashford talks Orr, Mikita, Hull, Canucks, big call in 1994 Cup final

Mar 12, 2025

Instead, she claims one incident was an electrical short — the other a fallen ceiling tile.

I’ll take the word of the official from Kamloops Fire Rescue, though — the short sparked flames. That makes it a fire.

In another bizarre turn, Fire Chief Mike Adams issued a news release this week commending the school district for its fire detection systems and protocols relating to the Parkcrest incident.

Adams was answering a question no one was asking about fire detection and inadvertently drawing attention to the unanswered questions about fire prevention.

In the coming weeks and months, we’re hoping for more information about what was done in the interim to try to prevent the fire that eventually destroyed the school building, including what was done to fix the earlier issues.

You can bet the rhetoric around this entire incident is being torqued for legal and insurance purposes — and maybe it’s being massaged to keep feelings from being hurt, too.

But the responsibility of officials here isn’t to smooth things over and keep matters tranquil. The responsibility is to provide the unvarnished truth for the staff, students and parents affected by this tragedy.

The last new school built in Kamloops opened in 2000.

That means almost all of the students in this district are spending their days in schools that are more than 20 years old. For the majority, it’s probably at least twice that.

Parents need to have confidence that everything in the district’s power is being done to keep those aging buildings as safe as possible.

Right now, that confidence is not particularly high.

——

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.