Fire Destroys Two Camino Real ES Classrooms Monday Night

Staff Reports

Hays Consolidated Independent School District will be replacing a portable after two classrooms were destroyed by a fire Monday night.

Around 11:00 PM, emergency officials responded to a fire at Camino Real Elementary School, which destroyed one portable building; the building held two-second grade classrooms.

According to Tim Savoy, Chief Communication Officer of Hays CISD, the total estimate of the damage including the building and its contents is between $200,000 and $250,000; the building was classified as a total loss.

Officials reported there were no injuries, and no one was inside the building at the time of the fire.

Investigators are still looking into the cause of the fire, but they said, in the preliminary stage, the cause was likely an electrical or mechanical problem associated with the air conditioner unit attached to the building.

Camino Real ES held classes as normal. The students displaced by the destruction of the two classrooms attended class inside the main building. None of the other buildings were affected by the fire.

Savoy said the district’s insurance would cover the cost of the building and the district-owned property that had been in it, such as furniture.

The students’ school supplies and teacher’s personal items are not covered.

Savoy said the district has had a generous outpouring of support from parents and the community offering assistance to help replace the items not covered by district insurance.

“Those who wish to help replace the teacher and student-owned materials can make a cash, check, or gift card donation to the Camino Real Elementary School PTA and ear-mark the funds to help recover from the fire,” Savoy said. “As soon as we have the clearance from investigators, we’ll remove the burned portable and replace it. We don’t have a timeline for that but hope to do that as fast as possible. In the meantime, the 44 students (2 classrooms and teachers) displaced by the fire will hold class on the main campus.”