A fire at Arthur Rann Elementary School left 670 students and 109 staff members displaced after the building was damaged early Monday, Jan. 26.
After a week of uncertainty, students and staff are now dispersed at schools throughout Galloway Township’s PK-8 public school district.
Around midnight, emergency personnel responded to an active fire at the school located on South 8th Street in Galloway after a neighbor called 911 to report a fire.
After Galloway Township Police arrived, fire crews from the Galloway Township Fire Department (Bayview, Oceanville and Pomona) promptly showed up, located the fire and quickly extinguished it, according to a statement from Stephen P. Santilli, Galloway Township Public Schools’ superintendent.
Fire officials told NBCPhiladelphia.com the fire started with a heater in a classroom. Police said the fire was quickly extinguished and that only one classroom sustained fire damage, though other classrooms sustained minor damage.
“There was some damage from the fire itself, as well as water damage and smoke affecting a portion of the building,” Santilli said in a Jan. 26 statement announcing the incident.
The superintendent said the school’s closure was “out of an abundance of caution.”
“Our goal is to return students to an educational environment as soon as possible. This will require flexibility from our school community, as the decisions we make are dependent upon outside testing and cleaning services to ensure the health, safety and welfare of our students and staff,” Santilli wrote.
State law requires students to complete 180 days of school. As a result, the school’s administration developed a plan to relocate Arthur Rann attendees and employees “until all of Arthur Rann, or portions of Arthur Rann will be opened up for use,” according to a Jan. 29 district announcement.
Under the interim plan, which began on Monday, Feb. 2, Arthur Rann preschoolers are attending classes at Roland Rogers Elementary School, kindergarten through third-grade students are at Galloway Township Middle School (GTMS) and fourth- through sixth-grade students are at Pomona School. The district said students will continue to follow their regular bus routes, with updated drop-off and pick-up procedures for families who drive their children.
Meals, nursing and mental health services remain available for all students, and homeroom teachers and staff have moved with their classes to maintain continuity during the transition. However, before- and after- school care will not be offered until further notice, according to the statement.
Santilli said the school is approaching the plan in one-week intervals as it continues to work with SERVPRO project managers daily.
“Our students are resilient and our entire staff is extraordinary. We will all continue to take this one minute, one hour and one day at a time, until we can return our Arthur Rann Dragons to their home school,” he said.
Julia graduated from Rider University in 2024 with a BA in multiplatform journalism and minor in social media strategies. In addition to reporting on local news for Shore Local, she is a social media strategist for small businesses. Connect with her: shorelocaljulia@gmail.com or @juliatrain on Instagram.
