Aberdeen mourns old school building as city's cornerstone goes up in smoke
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When the fire alarm first rang in the empty hallways of Aberdeen High School near midnight, it gave no hint that the stately old brick building would, by morning, be a charred hulk.
That realization came later: after 60 firefighters, nine engines, three ladder companies and 10 support trucks were called to downtown Aberdeen early yesterday to help fight the fire in the school's Weatherwax Building; after the second floor collapsed under two firefighters and on top of two more — they were unhurt; after more than 1,000 curious and sad townspeople stood for hours, some in their pajamas, watching flames jump 50 feet into the air from the windows of their alma mater.
"It was our cornerstone," said Principal Justin Smith. "I don't think you can put a dollar figure on the emotional loss."
It took four hours to put out the fire. Officials have not determined the cause; they were still busy putting out hot spots yesterday afternoon. Because the building was constructed in 1908, a sprinkler system was not required.
For Aberdeen residents, the Weatherwax was their old jewel, the biggest building on the high-school campus and the center of community life. It hosted town meetings and peewee wrestling. Most of the firefighters on the scene were Bobcats.
Smith cried while he listed all that was lost: 22 classrooms, the library, the textbook depository, the social sciences, special-education and English-as-a-second-language departments, the computer labs, decades-old murals drawn by students, every annual and every trophy the school has won since 1909.
"It's not just a loss to the students and staff," said Aberdeen schools Superintendent Marty Kay. "It's a loss to the entire community."
The school's 1,100 students won't return to class until at least Thursday. Officials have not determined the cost of the damage, only that the building is a total loss. In one bit of positive news, said Kay, local businesses and churches have offered to donate classroom space.
The classroom of English teacher David McKay, the Washington State Teacher of the Year, was in the Weatherwax, as was the classroom of William Carter, known as "Doc" to his students. Carter has taught at Aberdeen High for 31 years.
Carter lost his original dissertation in the fire, along with stacks of teaching materials on everything from Shakespeare's "Hamlet" to Plato's "Republic." Just before the fire, he was teaching Homer's "The Iliad."
"That book is full of themes," said Carter. "And one common theme is this: In times of crisis, people come together for the common good. You saw that in New York, and you'll see that here."
The Aberdeen Fire Department received the alarm around 11:45 p.m. According to Fire Chief Dave Carlberg, the first firefighters to arrive attempted an "interior attack" as fire blew out of the first-floor windows.
When they were sent to the second floor, it collapsed and there was an explosion. Carlberg said the four men got out "in the nick of time."
Crews then focused on containing the fire and protecting other buildings. The Phillips Building, which houses administrative offices and about half of the school's classrooms, suffered only broken windows, smoke and water damage.
"Basically, what you're looking at is a shell of a brick building, with everything inside it burnt up, gone," Carlberg said about the Weatherwax Building.
Carlberg graduated from Aberdeen High, as did his parents.
"I couldn't believe how many people were out there watching," he said. "... I think that building has touched everybody's life.
"Lots of things go through your mind when you're standing there watching your high school burn. Seeing the fire come out of these windows, I could remember taking French class in there. I could remember taking another class in there with the girl I married. It's a huge loss of memories."
Caitlin Cleary can be reached at 206-464-8214 or at ccleary@seattletimes.com