Smoke damage is scene above the door in this Saturday photo of the SSHS Vocational Lab Building, but inside
the building was gutted by Friday night's fire, with structural damage.

 

Vocational Agriculture Lab Building at
SSHS Damaged in Friday Night Fire

 

by: Bobby McDonald

 

"A smoky reminder"......this SSHS FFA stock trailer shows smoke accumulation on the top, from Friday night's major fire in the
Vocational Agriculture Lab Building, located on the south side of the SSHS campus.

 

It was a cold day of clean-up and installation for Sulphur Springs High School Vocational Agriculture Teachers, as they assessed the damage to the Vocational Agriculture Lab Building, located adjacent to the High School Horticulture Greenhouses.

A passing motorist reported a fire in the structure at approximately 9:55 p.m., Friday night, as flames were seen from Main Street and Sulphur Springs Firefighters responded to the blaze.

 

 

Firemen attempted to locate the blaze and found the source somewhere on the second floor of the building. Then, gas lines were discovered as the source feeding the fire and they were shut-off, along with electricity and water to the facility.

"The same gas, electricity, and water to that building goes to our greenhouses," exclaimed Dannie Johnson, High School Vocational Agriculture Teacher. "And, with the freezing temperatures we're currently experiencing, it was imperative that we get some kind of heat source to our plants in those greenhouses. We worked all day on Saturday to get water and heat restored to the greenhouses, where the tender plants wouldn't be lost, during another siege of cold weather on Saturday and Sunday nights, when temperatures are again predicted to be below freezing."

 

From outside it doesn't look like much damage to the building, but inside the fire, heat, and
water damaged the structure of the building and some of the contents.

 

"It's a mess and the cause of the fire is still under investigation," continued Johnson. "Most of it was heat and smoke damage to the contents and structure damage to the building. We were fortunate that our paint booth in that building doesn't seem to be damaged and the safety measures that we practice and teach to our students about storing chemicals and flammables, aided in no explosions happening during the fire!"

Johnson advised that currently a small engine repair class has been utilizing the classroom part of the building for their classes. "It's going to take some 'shifting' of students and making other arrangements, now that those facilities are destroyed, when we get back to classes on Monday. We'll just have to see what all we can do to make the necessary room to continue our classes, but fortunately no one was injured and we now have managed to keep the plants protected in our horticulture department!"

Johnson indicated that insurance investigators and local fire investigators would determine the cause of the fire, next week. Firefighters were on the scene until after 12:00 midnight, making certain that the blaze was contained.

 

The Horticultural Department's greenhouses, adjacent to the building were of major concern
with temperatures the coldest of the year, and gas, water and electricity had to be restored to
prevent damage to tender plants, housed therein.

 

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