THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 15, 1995 TAG: 9509140145
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 125 lines
THE OPENING SCENE of Princess Anne High School's new year drew favorable reviews Tuesday, but the juggling act required of faculty and students may turn into a long-running drama.
Each day since a Sept. 1 fire destroyed or damaged much of the school, new problems have arisen, only to be tackled head-on by quick-thinking officials kept in constant motion.
The latest change of plans involves the football team itself. Tonight's scheduled game at Tallwood has been pushed back to 7:30 p.m. Saturday because of complications arising from the fire and subsequent asbestos contamination of school property, which continues to undergo an extensive cleanup.
Cavalier head coach Mike Benzel was optimistic his team would be ready, but said losing 10 days of practice in pads has not helped the team's overall conditioning.
``I had all my pads out (of the locker room at P.A.) by 4:30 Monday after they cleaned them,'' Benzel said. ``Missing 10 days of practice with pads will probably make a big difference. We had one of our first full practices on Monday and the team just kind of died at the end. They had been working in shorts, but it's not the same as with pads. But I think we're going to be ready.''
On Wednesday, marching band uniforms, musical instruments, stands, sheet music and other marching band equipment was removed from the school and taken to Celebration Station, located two miles east on Virginia Beach Boulevard at Little Neck Road.
``We have a fairly dim outlook about salvaging some course materials and the drama costumes,'' said Anne Meek, an associate superintendent for Virginia Beach Schools. ``But no one has seen them first-hand. They're in the auditorium areas where there is asbestos contamination.''
Meanwhile, the massive cleanup of the sprawling school campus continues, as does the testing for safety. Before rooms can be used again, the building must meet three separate criteria: first, they must be free of asbestos; second, they must be cleaned of smoke and water damage; third, they must meet all city building codes, including heating, air conditioning, phones, fire alarms and everything else associated with a safe occupancy permit.
For now, the immediate focus is asbestos.
Princess Anne is generally divided into several buildings that are typically identified by a one hundred number.
In the 300 hall, most of the 500 hall, 600, 700 and the 100 halls, no asbestos contamination has been uncovered, said Meek. The testing is done by wiping down surfaces and testing the wipes for contamination.
With the halls apparently clean of that problem, the plan is to continue the general cleanup and then conduct ``aggressive air sampling,'' she said.
This technique uses special air filters and pumps to pick up particles that are all but impossible to see.
``If this testing comes back positive, then they'll return for fine cleaning, which involves a scrub down and the use of high efficiency particulate arresting filter vacuums,'' she said.
Then more testing follows.
``If they are again positive with the HEPA vacuum, then they have to clean the building again or consider destroying it,'' she said.
All porous materials come under particular scrutiny in this process, she said. Porous material is wrapped and taken to a designated clean room where it undergoes another thorough cleaning using a separate HEPA vacuum and wet wipes.
Porous materials is a broadly defined term and can include computers and telephones - anything in which air circulates.
If the tests come back negative for asbestos and the building meets the other two criteria - clean of smoke and water damage and it's up to building codes - then the building will be declared safe to meet occupancy standards, she said.
The west wing, which houses special education programs for the physically and intellectually challenged, is clean of asbestos and structurally sound but it has not been recertified for occupancy, she said.
``Phones and computers have not yet been completely cleaned. The life-safety systems, which are the fire alarms and so forth, have to be tested to make sure they work,'' she said.
Still the west wing is expected to be open Monday. Also school officials expect the restrooms and the gymnasium foyer at the main campus will be available for students, which should ease the demand for portable toilets that were installed near the portable classrooms.
But the 200 wing is another matter altogether. This was the section that suffered the brunt of the fire. The extent of damage is severe, but its fate has not been decided.
Because the school system has been preoccupied with saving what it can, decisions about this section have been delayed until the usable sections are back in operation.
``Tony Arnold, our director of facility and construction, has told me that an investigation into the 200 wing will take another couple of weeks,'' Meek said. ``The structural engineer will begin this assessment early next week. The decision will guide the School Board in what it should do next in terms of demolition and rebuilding or renovation.
``The presence of asbestos in this wing has greatly complicated the matter,'' she added. ``Even the engineer has to have some asbestos training before he can go into the building.''
Damage assessment and recommendations on repair will be made by a damage assessment team that includes architects from HBA Architecture and Interior Design and structural engineers from the firm of Stroud Pence & Associates Ltd. as well as mechanical and electrical teams.
``Even if the decision is made to demolish the 200 wing, they still have to deal with asbestos abatement. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MORT FRYMAN
Students and teaches gather to find their way around the portable
classrooms set up in the Princess Anne High School Parking
Lot.[color cover photo]
Melissa Rice, a Princess Anne senior, hands out maps to students
entering the Celebration Station building, now converted to
classrooms.[color cover photo]
Some of the classrooms - like this math class - at Celebration
Station can be seen through the hallway windows of the former
shopping mall.
Using makeshift equipment, Marie Wells conducts her public speaking
lessons on Tuesday's first day of classes at Celebration Station.
Staff graphic by John Earle
[Map]
[Fire damage to Princess Anne High School]
by CNB