MUKILTEO—Hundreds of students can now return to class at Endeavour Elementary starting Monday, January 8, the district announced Friday, after a fire ravaged through the school the evening of December 4, 2023.
The preferred plan to return for in-person learning by January 8 was a herculean effort. The Mukilteo School District worked with many agencies and parties including its insurance company, investigatory experts, fire department officials, city officials, engineers, multiple trade workers, and the Health Department and Labor and Industries, to prioritize reopening the school as quickly as possible.
Returning the elementary school to a suitable state for in-person learning involved an extensive cleanup and restorative construction effort, the district said. Crews from 21 states began construction on December 4 with anywhere between 70 and 100 people working onsite ever since.
If the District had missed its January 8 goal, a portion of the 450 students impacted by the fire would have returned to in-person learning at the school, while hundreds of others would have attended school at Discovery Elementary until reconstruction at Endeavour was complete.
“The online program has been head-and-shoulders above what was delivered during COVID,” a parent told the Lynnwood Times.
On the morning of Monday, December 4, around 1:30 a.m., local firefighters responded to a fire alarm at Endeavour Elementary, located at 12300 Harbour Pointe Boulevard in Mukilteo. A total of 42 firefighters, eight engines, and two ladder trucks began efforts to combat the fire, which was located on the roof, and the fire was contained around 3:37 a.m.
Mukilteo FD w/ @SouthSnoFire , @EverettFire , @painefieldfire responded to structure fire at Endeavor Elementary this morning. pic.twitter.com/r6ityHn9OD
— Mukilteo Fire (@MukilteoFire) December 4, 2023
While the fire was localized to one area of the school at the southwest entrance, near the library and office, all the main building and classrooms sustained damage from smoke and water, affecting half of the building.
The classrooms and areas closest to the fire sustained more damage than those furthest from the fire, but all main building areas were affected to some degree. The portables were not affected.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Author: Mario Lotmore
