GARDEN GROVE : School Fire That Did $250,000 Damage Was Set to Cover Classroom Burglary

Arson was the cause of a fire Sunday evening at Dr. Leroy L. Doig Intermediate School that resulted in an estimated $250,000 damage to three classrooms, authorities said Monday.

“It was a case of classroom burglary with the fire set to cover up,” said Capt. Bill Dumas, arson investigator for the Garden Grove Fire Department.

The fire began about 7:30 p.m. and was brought under control within 30 minutes. School and fire officials declined to discuss what was stolen.

On Monday, classes were held in the school’s library and cafeteria. Teachers who lost their classrooms were short on textbooks and other teaching materials, so they used the fire as a topic for classwork, which included essays and discussions.

“Eight years worth of my teaching is now a pile of ashes outside the door,” said Austin Sharp, an eighth-grade English teacher whose classroom was burglarized and set on fire. “I’m like a brand-new teacher now, I have nothing.”

The things he’ll miss most are “the stuff you can’t replace,” Sharp said, including videos of past drama productions, letters from former students, and student portfolios from the past year.

Principal James Smith said he doesn’t know when classrooms will be reconstructed. For now, fans are set up at the doorways to disperse odor from the fire, and the blackened furniture has been piled in a heap for disposal. Smith plans to call area schools for donations of seventh- and eighth-grade English textbooks, as well as other teaching materials.

No arrests have been made in connection with the fire. The blaze is believed to be the first arson in the school’s 32-year history, Smith said.