BUENA PARK : Out of Arsonist’s Ashes : As Rebuilding Moves Toward End, School Recalls a Day of Fire

Kathy Barnett remembers reading a Christmas story to her first-grade children, who were just settling down from lunch one year ago, when she noticed an odd smell coming from the next room. “I thought to myself, ‘Gee, something smells like burnt popcorn,’ ” said Barnett, who went outside to discover flames shooting from the roof. “When I opened the door I realized we weren’t having popcorn, we were having a fire.”

Barnett quickly moved to get her students out, then watched in horror as firefighters battled to save the building.

“I was stunned. My first reaction was why is this building on fire.”

It was a year ago this week that an arsonist set fire to a portion of Arthur F. Corey Elementary School, causing more than $500,000 in damage to six classrooms and the school’s library. About 125 students and adults had to be evacuated as the blaze swiftly moved from a storage room to classrooms, destroying everything in its path. None of the children were injured but Dick Martin, who was principal at the time, sustained moderate burns when he ran back into the building to check the restrooms for students.

A year later, Barnett and other teachers whose rooms were destroyed have settled into makeshift classrooms while construction crews work nearby to restore the burned building. An interim library has been set up for the children and even former Principal Martin, the man considered a hero for his efforts, had to be reminded that a year had passed.

“Oh yes, it was a year ago,” said Martin, who has since taken over the top job at James A. Whitaker Elementary School. “Every once in a while I do think about it. . . . You still think, ‘What if.’ ”

Hours after the fire, the district set in motion an elaborate plan to get the school up and running. Portable classrooms were brought in eight days later and school personnel worked overtime to be ready for the students when they returned from Christmas vacation.

As soon as the next day, some teachers and students worked to salvage as much as possible while the rest of the school settled into business as usual.

While the school recuperated, fire officials searched for whoever set the fire. After the school fire, several palm trees in the area were torched by youths calling themselves the “Pyros,” officials said. However, a connection could never be made.

“Arson is one of the hardest crimes to solve,” Buena Park Fire Marshal Don Tully said. “Unless someone actually sees someone with a match in their hand it is very hard to prove.”

Reluctantly, the investigators have stopped looking for the arsonist.

“We don’t have any leads,” Tully said. “The case is suspended. We are not actively working on it.”

Instead, talk is of the future.

“I think the new room is going to be great,” said second-grade teacher Ron Severin, who manages to squeeze fifth-and sixth-grade choir practice into his tight, temporary quarters, piano and all.

For the past few months, construction crews have been working to restore the building. A new roof, interior walls and wiring are being added along with carpeting and tile. The district had initially planned to have the classrooms open by last September, but the new estimate is this March, officials said.

More than 3,000 books are waiting to be stocked in the new library, along with television sets, movie projectors and other audiovisual equipment. “Everything is just stored waiting for someplace to go,” said Jerry Horton, the new principal.

Almost everything could be replaced, even the pupils’ sense of security. With an air of adventure, they excitedly recount exactly where they were during the blaze.

“Yes, I remember,” said second-grader Amber Miller. “We were in the classroom and Miss Wilson came in and said (to another teacher), ‘There is a f-i-r-e.’ I started to cry because all my friends were still in there.”

Only a few things will be missing when the classrooms are dedicated, Horton said.

“The saddest part is that all the trophies that the school won are all gone. You can’t replace them.”