No Injuries as Ceiling Collapses at School

The ceiling of an elementary school cafeteria suddenly caved in Friday afternoon, just minutes after students attending a summer program were cleared out of the area by a school official.

No one was injured in the incident at Pinewood Avenue Elementary School, but the open-air structure was left in rubble.

The 11 students attending a summer activities program in the building were evacuated five minutes beforehand by a school official alerted by a rumble that shook the structure.

Had the school been in regular session, it could have been a very different story. The outdoor cafeteria, equipped with long tables and benches, has a capacity of about 600 students, according to Pinewood Principal Esther Macias.

“I can’t believe it,” said Macias, looking over the wreckage. “I’m just happy this didn’t happen during lunch time.”

Los Angeles Unified School District officials at the scene said they had no idea why the ceiling of the 3,200-square-foot structure, built in the late 1960s, suddenly collapsed.

“I’ve never seen anything like it with all my years in the district,” said area maintenance director Michael Brady, who has been with the LAUSD for 28 years.

Macias said she had no reason to believe the structure was unsound. “It didn’t even leak when it rained,” she said.

The school auditorium, built at the same time as the cafeteria and of similar materials, was closed by officials Friday and would not be reopened, they said, until it could be checked. Brady said that LAUSD records will be examined to determine what other school structures in the district were built in the same time period.

The program in session in the cafeteria just before the collapse was being overseen by playground supervisor Ramon Diaz. The children, ages 6 to 12, were playing a card game when the rumble shook the building. “I thought it was an earthquake,” Diaz said. “I couldn’t make sense out of it except [to start] safety procedures.”

Diaz told the children to get under the cafeteria tables and quickly crawl out.

“No one panicked, no one cried,” he said.

Los Angeles Fire Battalion Chief Tony Varela said Diaz’s actions prevented injury. “This gentleman is a hero,” Varela said.

But Diaz, 30, who has been with the school for about a year, said the children should be given the credit. “I believe the children are the heroes because they reacted so well,” he said.

When they were clear of the building, he said, “I gave all the kids a high-five.”

LAUSD school officials said all the structures at Pinewood would be examined today.