SWR High School gym fire shifts athletics, phys ed activities
An Aug. 16 fire at Shoreham-Wading River High School that damaged the main gym ceiling and floor will require some athletics and physical education classes to relocate until repairs are completed.
Superintendent Gerard Poole said water damages to the gym floor — a result of efforts to extinguish the fire — will require “major renovation,” but all other areas of the high school will be open for the start of the school year. Work to replace the floor has already begun, with the floor already ripped up as of Aug. 26.
Girls’ and boys’ junior varsity and varsity volleyball practices and games will be held at the district’s Albert G. Prodell Middle School this year. Physical education classes will be held outside, in the high school’s wrestling center or fitness center.
The high school cheerleading team will practice at the middle school as they have in years past. Mr. Poole said the district has also ordered a second set of mats for cheerleaders to have a second space at Miller Avenue School this year.
All other rooms and hallways at the high school will be accessible and available as usual. Locker rooms remain accessible for the start of the school year as well.
No specific date was given for when repairs will be completed at the high school gym, but Mr. Poole said the information will be shared publicly as soon as it is available.
“Unfortunately, it was not a possibility to partially replace the floor at this time. It was a full job,” Mr. Poole said.
The district has submitted the repair costs to its insurance company, Mr. Poole told the Riverhead News-Review, and there is not a current need to use the district’s reserve fund.
Mr. Poole and Board of Education president Thomas Sheridan extended their gratitude to the Wading River, Rocky Point and other area fire departments that responded to the fire on Aug. 16. An extra thanks was extended to the high school’s staff and others who were involved in the clean up and restoration of the gym.
“Ultimately, we obviously look forward to the renovations and restoring the gym back to its better state at this point,” Mr. Sheridan said.
