Iconic building at WV Schools for Deaf and Blind destroyed in fire
The main administrative building of the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind in Romney was destroyed by a fire on Saturday morning around 6:00 a.m. Fortunately, the building had no staff or students at the time. The school said there was no damage to any other facilities on campus.
It is not known the cause of the fire. A spokesperson from the West Virginia Department of Education, Christy Day, told “The Daily Moth” that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the State Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating.
The building was an iconic and historic part of the campus and a prominent landscape within the Romney downtown area. There is a “Daily Moth” video of the campus, the link is below in the transcript. The building dates back to the mid-1800’s.
The West Virginia Department of Education said in a press release that WVSDB students have moved to remote learning through March 4 because the administrative building housed “servers that power campus technology including internet, telephones, surveillance equipment and other utilities.”
WV Gov. Jim Justice posted on social media that the fire is “absolutely heartbreaking news.” He vowed to rebuild what was lost.
According to someone familiar with the school, most of the main administrative building was vacant at the time and was destined to be renovated into a museum. All of the personnel had already moved to another building and the computer servers were in the back of the building.
——
[Sponsored Video from Convo: https://www.convorelay.com/download ]
—
[Advertisement from Disaster Distress Helpline] After a disaster, you may be at risk for emotional distress. The Disaster Distress Helpline offers a 24/7 direct videophone option. Dial 1-800-985-5990 or go to disasterdistress.samhsa.gov.]
—-
[Advertisement: Book today for your next all-inclusive vacation with Deaf Resorts. https://deafresorts.com/ . All inclusive meals with unlimited drinks. Deaf Staff and Sign Language interpreters provided at all our events.
——
On Monday, WVSDB Superintendent Clayton Burch held a press conference with an ATF agent and a representative from the State Fire Marshal’s Office. Here are some clips from the press conference with Google ASR captions and an interpreter.
[Video Clips from press conference, full video at link below]
I got a video of employees who stood together in front of the school to sing/sign a song.
[Video clip of about 30 people standing in front of the damaged building singing or signing a song]
As you can see, the school spirit is still strong. We’ll see what the fire investigation finds about the cause of the fire. Several WVSDB alumni have posted on Facebook that they are discussing ways on how the community can support them through this time.
Justice: https://www.facebook.com/WVGovernor/posts/514589353357301
Press Conference: https://www.facebook.com/wveducation/videos/483878033343751
WVSDB Visit by Daily Moth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi4MuOpuhcg