PACOIMA : Air Conditioners to Be Replaced Free

Thirty-three air conditioners destroyed by a weekend fire at Charles Maclay Junior High School in Pacoima will be replaced within the next few months at no cost to the school or the Los Angeles Unified School District, officials said Tuesday.

The air conditioners, which were waiting to be installed, will be replaced at the expense of the contractor’s insurance firm, said Mike Loveridge, the district’s maintenance and operations director for the eastern San Fernando Valley. The units were worth between $1,500 and $2,500 apiece. Loveridge predicted that installation will most likely be completed as planned by fall.

The blaze broke out Sunday evening minutes after workers finished welding security bars onto outdoor poles to prevent theft of the units, which stood stacked in cardboard boxes outside on school grounds. Arson investigators are trying to determine whether the fire was ignited by welding sparks or set deliberately.

The loss was an added blow to the campus, which suffered an estimated $50,000 in structural damage in the blaze. Vandals have done about $12,000 damage this year, including an April incident that left several classrooms unusable.