ESD school building burns
No one hurt, operations continue with help from area schools
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INDIAN RIVER -- The Cheboygan-Otsego-Presque Isle Educational Service District administration building is destroyed after a fire late Friday night.
The building, located in Indian River, went up in flames just before 10 p.m. on Friday. ESD Superintendent Jamie Huber said he received a phone call from the district's internet provider that its internet connection was gone. He then received a text message from a district employee that a fire department had been dispatched to the building.
"I want to recognize the firefighters and first-responders who did everything they could to try and save the building," Huber said Monday. "They worked through the night and into Saturday."
The ESD serves 10 K-12 school districts and approximately 9,000 students in Cheboygan, Otsego, and Presque Isle counties, including Posen and Rogers City schools.
Dave Carpenter, fire chief with the Tuscarora Township Fire Department, told the Petoskey News-Review that the building is a complete loss and no injuries were reported.
Carpenter told the News-Review that the cause of the fire is unknown, but it appears the fire started somewhere in the building. He said he expects to hear from a Michigan State Police fire investigator Monday.
The fire took about two hours to extinguish, but several more hours to make sure all the hot spots in the rubble were put out, Carpenter said. Fire crews were on scene until about 3:30 a.m.
The district worked over the weekend to come up with a plan for what to do next, Huber said. The district's back building, which was not affected by the fire, will be used for administration, technology, and finance staff starting today. Professional staff will work at surrounding school districts.
Huber said the ESD has received support from K-12 districts in the three counties. He said a training event that was supposed to be held in the ESD building is now being held at Gaylord Community Schools today.
"It will be a lot of work to think of the steps ahead," Huber said. "We're seeing firsthand incredible support from the community to make adjustments and be up and running. We talk about resiliency and grit within our district, and we're seeing that now by everyone."
Posen Consolidated Schools Superintendent Michelle Wesner said superintendents haven't been provided any details about the cause of the fire, but they do know that everybody is safe.
Wesner said the K-12 districts have offered to assist the ESD. She said a couple of ESD employees were working at Posen schools on Monday.
"Staff was back working today, so it was business as usual," Wesner said. "With majority of items on the computer and internet, they were back up and running with no issues."
Julie Goldberg can be reached at 989-358-5688 or jgoldberg@thealpenanews.com. Follow her on Twitter @jkgoldberg12.