Rollins School likely closed for year; fire damage is extensive

Jan. 26--LAWRENCE -- Faced with significant fire damage and needed repairs, the historical Rollins School in the city's Prospect Hill neighborhood likely will not reopen until next school year.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't back in there until September," Mayor Daniel Rivera said Thursday.

The fire, caused by an electrical wiring issue, ripped through the historical school on the evening of Dec. 23.

The 170 students who attended the Rollins School and 50 staffers were relocated to the vacant St. Mary's School at 301 Haverhill St. when holiday vacation ended.

The city is paying $17,000 per month in rent to the Archdiocese of Boston for the use of St. Mary's School.

That rental arrangement will continue until the Rollins School, which was built in 1892, is repaired, Rivera said.

A month after the fire, it's still unclear how much repairs to the school will cost. Fire officials initially estimated the damage at $2 million.

However, Rivera said the city still awaits the official word from adjusters with Traveler's Insurance, which the city has a $100,000 deductible with.

"We will definitely have to pay that," Rivera said of the deductible.

Rivera said the bulk of the damage is centered in the middle of the 37,979-square-foot school, which is valued at $1,818,000, according to city assessing records.

"The big-ticket item is clearly the slate roof," he said.

The gym floor also buckled.

"But it really affected everything under the middle of the school, classrooms and offices," Rivera said.

"There's also a lot of stuff that's still salvageable, due to the hard work of the men and women in the Fire Department," he added.

Work currently is being done to shore up the roof from the weather. Also, ServPro was brought in to "clean as much as possible in the classrooms and offices," Rivera said.

At 5:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 23, firefighter Manny Gutierrez was leaving work at Engine 6 and going to get in his truck when he noticed flames coming from the roof of the school.

While brick on the outside, the interior of the school is made of wood.

The bulk of the fire was in the cockloft -- part of the attic -- of the three-story building and the blaze "pretty much burned through the roof," Deputy Fire Chief John McInnis previously said.

For the past nine years, the Rollins School was used as an early childhood center for prekindergarten and kindergarten students.

Built in the Romanesque Revival style, the Rollins School was named for John Rodman Rollins, who lived from 1817 to 1892 and was a Lawrence mayor and superintendent.

The building has a clock tower with a bell that rings on the hour.

When asked if the city is committed to repairing the school, Rivera replied, "Absolutely."

"The school is on the National Register of Historic Places," said Rivera, noting a distinction the Rollins earned in 2000.

Follow staff reporter Jill Harmacinski on Twitter @EagleTribJill.

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