CBS 6 gets first look inside Richmond school damaged by lightning strike

RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond Public Schools (RPS) Superintendent Jason Kamras and his leadership team updated cleanup efforts at Cardinal Elementary before taking reporters on a behind the scenes look at the damage.

“The bulk of our damage right now is water damage and that’s what we’ve been working on,” RPS Chief Operating Officer Dana Fox said. “Currently in the building we have about 80 people inside working. [Thursday] that number is going to increase.”

Crews will work throughout the Labor Day weekend so students can return to class on Tuesday.

Watch: What these Richmonders are saying about the lightning strike

Richmond Police said emergency crews were called to the 1700 block of Catalina Drive at about 6:54 p.m. Monday for a two-alarm fire at Cardinal Elementary School.

Kamras said Richmond Fire confirmed a lightning strike was responsible for starting the fire.

The damage impacts 16 total classrooms that serve mostly 2nd and 3rd graders.

When students return, their teachers will hold class in the gym and multipurpose room for no more than two weeks.

That’s how long RPS said their crews will take to repair a small hole in the roof.

Inside the classrooms, I observed plastic covering desks and supplies. Dozens of fans blow through the first and second-floor hallways as workers continue to replace many ceiling tiles damaged by the water.

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PHOTOS: Behind the scenes look at Cardinal Elementary damage

WTVR CBS 6 Web Staff

Kamras said it’s unclear how much the clean-up will cost as Cardinal Elementary is just three years old.

I then asked Kamras if it was frustrating pumping money and resources into a new school.

“That’s why we have insurance just like your house. We make sure all of our facilities are insured for acts of God and things of this nature. That’s why we pay our premiums and make sure we are covered so it’s not coming out of the tax payers pocket and not coming out of the facilities budget that we need for all of our schools,” he responded.

Shavonda Dixon Fernandez, the 9th District Richmond School Board member, applauded the quick work of first responders and the contractors working to repair the school.

“This was a team effort and a collaboration to ensure the safety of our students and to ensure we are moving quickly to reopen the doors,” she said. “We understand the impact of schools being out unexpectedly where you have parents that have day jobs and things they have accounted for and aren’t able to see to that due to the unexpected circumstances.”

This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.

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