SPARTA, Mich. — A fire that broke out during winter break at Sparta High School left the auditorium unusable and forced the school's theater programs to find alternative venues for upcoming performances.
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The fire started accidentally on Dec. 26, according to School Superintendent Joel Stoner.
"We had some repairs happening to some of the surfaces on some of these sound deadening areas, and as a result of that, there was some material left behind that they determined was highly volatile, which resulted in it spontaneously combusting," Stoner said.
The damage is extensive, requiring replacement of stage flooring, seats, and carpeting, among other repairs. Stoner estimates the cost at half a million dollars and expects repairs to take the rest of the school year.
"A prompt response from Sparta Fire helped us navigate anything further going through the building and keeping it inside so there's no further ash and smoke damage," Stoner said.
The fire has disrupted both school and community theater programs. Mar Higgins, director of Sparta Schools and Community Theatre, said the planned community play has been postponed until next year.
The middle school's production of "Stuart Little" will now be performed in the school cafeteria from March 27 to March 29.
"We are adapting the cafeteria to be a performance in the horseshoe," Higgins said. "We take lemons, and we make lemonade, and we're going to make this work; we'll have about 250 folding chairs put into this space."
The high school's production of "Madagascar" has been moved to Comstock Park High School, where it will run April 23-26.
"Comstock Park has come up to the plate and has said, No, you will not cancel your high school show. We will provide you with a venue that you can have your performers perform in. My heart goes out to them," Higgins said.
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