The Gateway School experienced a suspicious fire in January, leaving it without the four classrooms in which teachers instructed students with special needs.
A suspicious fire gutted the main building of the Gateway School in south Gilroy tonight. The blaze erased the rebuilding efforts that parents, teachers and administrators had launched since another suspicious fire gutted the same building just six months ago.
At 7:27 p.m., firefighters responded to a three-alarm fire at 7151 Hanna Street, near Glen View Elementary School, said Battalion Chief Phil King. The building, already heavily damaged from a January fire, was nearly destroyed by 8:30 p.m. Charred remains of the outer walls fell to the ground in clumps and only a skeleton of the building remained.
"It was going pretty good when we got here," King said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, he said. However, the fact that flames were reported in the initial call for service is suspicious, he said. In addition, a back room of the main school building was broken into and vandalized earlier this week, school staff said.
"Nothing was stolen," said Donna Kein, the Gateway office coordinator. "It was just kids being stupid."
Once the flames started shooting through the roof, firefighters knew they were dealing with a difficult structure fire, he said. With the roof caving in, they worked around the perimeter of the building, training their hoses on the flames, which burnt 90 percent of the building.
The building housed four classrooms before the January fire and had not been used since. Teachers were running classes out of portables that were adjacent to the school.
"It's too bad it happened again just when we got word they were going to rebuild," Kein said of the fire.
The school services students with learning disabilities, including disorders that make sudden change difficult for them.
"The first time was bad, but this was just horifying," said Jaimie Windgassem, who brings her 19-year-old special-needs son, Cody, for tutoring sessions from Morgan Hill. "I can't believe anyone would do this. Change is hard for anyone, especially for these kids."
Seeing how badly the the main building was damaged, firefighters worked to run hose lines between the fire and nearby buildings, including the administration building.
"The last thing we want is another building on fire," King said.
Even though the fire gutted the main Gateway School building, the fire did not affect Glen View or the portables.
"We found the portables where the classes are held were unharmed," said one teacher's aid, who refused to give her name.
The aid rushed to the school as soon as she heard about the fire.
"Last time all the materials in the classes were ruined," she said. "Who the hell would do this."
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