ORRICK, Mo. — The Orrick R-11 School District is working on a Plan B after flames tore through classrooms Wednesday morning at the school.
Hallways remained empty Friday and classrooms dark as crews continue to assess damage and plan for repairs.
"It's not good," Orrick Superintendent Scott Archibald said. "It's a lot of cleanup. That's for sure."
But for now there are more unanswered questions as Archibald is forced to play a waiting game.
"When they tell me that we're safe and we're good to go, then we'll be," he said. "We'll have our plans in place and we'll start making things ready for kids to come back."
It's unclear exactly when that will happen, so Archibald said they may have to move students who normally had class in the affected area to another location in the school.
"We actually have some open spaces that we'll be able to move some kids to," he said.
But that will only be possible after structural engineers determine what can be salvaged and the air quality is tested to ensure a safe environment when students do come back.
"It's happened (and) there's nothing we can do about it now," Archibald said. "It's all about how do we move forward."
The area where the fire happened is one of the oldest parts of the building, originally constructed in the 1930s and '40s.
Fire inspectors have determined the blaze started in the attic but can't say yet what exactly caused the fire.
Archibald said he'll notify parents as soon as it's determined when the school will reopen.
