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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, June 15, 2006

UNIVERSITY LAB SCHOOL FIRE
Laboratory School 'ohana 'devastated' but undaunted

 •  PDF: Lab School's annual fire inspection report
 •  Previous story: Complex destroyed in fire at Lab School
 •  Lab school needs community support
 •  High roof provided plenty of room for fire to spread
 •  Sports programs take hit from fire

By Mary Vorsino
Advertiser Staff Writer

Four-year-olds Lily Carlson, left, and Tei O'Malley put the final touches on a thank-you card that the UH-Manoa Children's Center, Polu and Moana class, put together for firefighters at Engine 29.

GREGORY YAMAMOTO | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Honolulu firefighters sprayed water yesterday on the smoldering remains of the building at the University Laboratory School in Manoa.

GREGORY YAMAMOTO | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Parents, students and alumni rallied around University Laboratory School yesterday, pledging to build bigger and better on the charred remains of a building — long-considered the heart of the campus — that housed its precious music, theater and athletic programs.

School officials, meanwhile, said they would not let Tuesday's fire dilute the Lab School's dedication to extracurricular programs, even if it means retooling schedules, doubling up on classroom space or working overtime to solicit money from the state Legislature and donors.

Alumni, such as Celia Khim, who went into the Lab School as a 4-year-old and graduated from its Manoa campus at age 18, want the fire to serve as a catalyst for an overdue makeover of the aging campus.

"I'm devastated. We need to mourn our loss. After that, the fire really does give us a productive reason to get together," Khim said. "I think the school will rebound. Definitely."

Kevin Mann, a 1972 graduate whose daughter is a ninth-grader, said he also wants to see alumni come together after the fire.

"Out of this tragedy, it may create a swell of support and resurgence of the Lab School," Mann said, adding that his daughter is worried about what courses will be offered in symphony and drama in the coming semester. "We don't want to see an interruption to the programs."

Circuit Judge Steve Alm, who graduated from the school in 1971 and is now on its board, said the institution is "full of tough survivors" and will undoubtedly pull through the tragedy — with the help of lots of alumni.

"It's the spirit of the people involved," he said. "The school has never been wealthy so people have had to be creative and come up with innovative solutions for dealing with things."

CAUSE STILL UNKNOWN

The fire started at about 3:48 p.m., ripping through the 20,000-square-foot building in minutes. Fire investigators continued to search for the fire's cause yesterday, and officials said an arson investigator would fly in from the Mainland today.

Fire officials declined to say whether they believe the fire was deliberately set.

The University of Hawai'i College of Education's dean, Randy Hitz, said the university is working with its insurance company to determine what was covered. He declined to put a dollar figure on what was lost in the blaze and said the Fire Department's estimate of damage — about $6 million for the building and $500,000 for its contents — appeared to be low. He said a better idea of the damage will likely be available when an inventory of the building is completed, possibly as early as tomorrow.

The building housed drama, orchestra, theater and physical education programs. Athletic offices as well as some offices of the Curriculum, Research and Development Group were there.

Hitz said university officials are already thinking about how to replace what was lost. The work won't be easy, he added, but it's not impossible.

"It is a huge loss for us," Hitz said. "We're not swimming in money. We're not swimming in space, either."

Peter Young, director of the Lab School's summer session, said his biggest priority is to get extracurricular programs back on track in time for the start of the fall semester Aug. 21. Luckily, the school had just ordered a few instruments to replace older ones.

But help is needed, he said, to get everything from athletic uniforms to theater costumes. He encouraged alumni, parents and students to give money or in-kind donations.

It's unclear if the university will be able to spend any money on the reconstruction before school resumes, said UH-Manoa Chancellor Denise Konan.

And because the institution is a charter school, the state Department of Education is under no obligation to help the recovery.

'IT WAS ... EMOTIONAL'

The building that burned was rickety, hot and almost always crammed with students.

For some, it was an afternoon hangout, where they played half-court basketball and came to joke with coaches. For others, it was where they performed plays for parents or practiced for recitals. Among alumni of the Lab School, it was priceless.

"It was called the matchbox because it's all wood," said 1988 graduate Danny Alvarez of the burned building. Today, the long-used nickname has a double meaning. "I never thought it was going to burn down, but I always thought it was susceptible."

Alvarez, president of the alumni association, said he was driving home Tuesday when he heard the building was burning. He immediately thought about all the memories housed in "the matchbox" — trophies, photos, old jerseys. "It was pretty emotional," he said. "They lost a lot of mementos that had been built up over the years. It was a very important place for us."

Alvarez said he hopes the feelings evoked by the fire — which he said are shared by just about every Lab School alumni — elicit an outpouring of support to rebuild the entire campus.

By late yesterday afternoon, 16 people had donated a total of $1,510 to the UH Foundation for the school, and Alvarez has been barraged by fellow graduates wanting to help.

"I guess I always thought that they were going to improve and maybe build something new," he said. "It's about time they put some money into refurbishing or maybe putting up a new site."

PLANS FELL THROUGH

Hitz, of the College of Education, said there are at least two other buildings on the Lab School campus built in the 1930s — and they "need to be replaced." Electrical work was done on one structure recently, but not the one that burned down.

"Capital improvement has been a real issue," he said.

There were plans in 1994 to build a new Lab School, and there was a groundbreaking at the campus. But the project fell through, and the old structures remained.

Since, there has been talk about upgrades — but few results.

State Sen. Norman Sakamoto, chairman of the Senate Education and Military Affairs Committee, said the university needs to take a bigger role in the school's maintenance if anything is to be done.

"The school is a good school, but the university needs to agree to work together and find replacement funds for the facility," he said.

Sakamoto is a 1965 graduate. His seventh-grade and music classrooms were in the building that burned.

"It's sad to see. It dredges up sad memories, but on the other hand it's an opportunity to redevelop that whole campus," he said.

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.