A passerby reported the fire at 3:03 a.m. on Friday morning, Jan. 9, 2004. When firefighters arrived the metal building, which is approximately two years old, was totally engulfed in flames. Macon County fire fighters with mutual aid from Westmoreland fire fighters arrived on the scene but were unable to keep the building from being totally destroyed.
Local investigators believe the fire started around 3 a.m. Friday morning in the middle of a wall where the heater is located. While the exact cause of the fire is still unknown, the investigation has been turned over to the State Fire Marshal's office.
A second fire was reported on Monday, Jan. 12, 2004, around 1:00 a.m. when a pile of books re-ignited. The fire was quickly extinguished and no injuries resulted from either fire.
The classrooms housed in the 90'x85' building which were completely destroyed affected grades 3, 4, and 5 and the Headstart preschool classes. In an emergency meeting by the Macon County Board of Education held Friday, Jan. 9, 2004, the school board and Westside principal David Flynn, along with several of the Westside teachers, devised placements for each class allowing them to remain at the Westside campus.
Fourth grade classes taught by Shelia Cochran and Debbie Sharp will be combined and will meet in the light span lab. Fifth grade classes will be assigned to meet in the teacher's lounge and the Title One Lab.
With only one third grade class being housed in the damaged building, this class will be split up and merged into other third grade classes housed inside the main building. Team teaching will be incorporated with three teachers per two classes. Eulia Church, located near the school, has donated the use of their building for the Headstart classes to meet.
Dry Tech, a clean up team from Nashville, worked throughout the weekend to remove the debris and diminish the smell of smoke from the scene. Classes were scheduled to meet on Monday, Jan. 12, but were cancelled because of the lingering snow. Due to the second fire the team had to be recalled to repeat the clean up process on Monday and into Tuesday.
David Flynn, principal of the school, stated, "We were lucky twice, both times the school was vacant and school was closed due to snow; this gave us a little more time to get everything cleaned up and ready for classes."
While some materials and supplies are deemed irreplaceable, an insurance representative was on the scene Monday morning and everything is expected to be covered under the school's policy.
Several board members commended the school staff for helping with the situation.
Chuck Cowan stated, "I have been thoroughly impressed with the record keeping and the cooperation from the staff at Westside; they deserve a pat on the back." Ronald Birdwell praised the team work at Westside, noting the janitors and maintenance employees as "going above and beyond" to help with the clean up process.
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