Fire, smoke damages Bobkitten Preschool

A sooty film of gray and black covers the walls of Orchard's BobKitten Preschool, a sharp contrast to the normal colorful artwork that decorates the space.

The smoke damage is the result of a late-evening fire that started - and was contained - in the classroom, located in the Orchard Community Center, Monday, Nov. 21.

Orchard Village Chairman Stephanie Cleveland said a passerby heard the alarm sounding at the school and reported it.

She was notified of a potential fire at approximately 10:38 p.m.

Orchard Volunteer Fire Department and Royal Fire Department responded to the scene after being paged at approximately 10:52 p.m.

Orchard fire chief Pat Bergman said village officials had opened the building before the fire department arrived.

"A small fire extinguisher was used to put the fire out," he said.

Firemen checked ceiling titles for potential damage, ventilated rooms and the hallway and hauled a small amount of ashes out of the structure.

Cleveland is unsure if additional damage was sustained in the hallway or adjoining rooms.

"You can smell smoke in the hallway, so we'll need to take that odor out," she said.

The Nebraska State Fire Marshal's office is investigating the fire and has not released its findings.

Preschool director, Jillian Henn, said she received a notification about the fire at approximately 11:30 p.m., but her phone was turned off. Henn's assistant, Angie Robertson, saw the smoke and went to the facility.

"We lost almost everything," Henn said.

Even items inside a closed cupboard sustained smoke damage.

Henn said, "Powerwashing and scrubbing didn't get rid of it."

The preschool will be tempoIt came a point where Henn had to decide what was "worth her time" to try and salvage.

The preschool will be temporarily housed in the fellowship hall at St. Peter's Lutheran Church, its original home until moving to the community center at the beginning of the 2022-23 school year.

"The kids have been so good. It's second nature to be back at the Lutheran church."

Henn said students are learning new rules about respect for the facility. As of now, she does not have a timeline for when the preschool may be able to move back into the room at the community center

The preschool will need to replace damaged items, including craft supplies, utensils, teaching supplies, toys, cleaning items, kitchen items and furniture. Henn created an online registry at Walmart.com, under BobKitten Preschool. Within a few hours, many items had been purchased.

"I feel blessed with people and how they stepped up," she said.

Currently, small book shelves to store totes of toys and other items are still needed.

On Sunday, a group of volunteers assisted with cleaning items out of the classroom.

"Cleaning took 20 minutes because of the number of volunteers," Henn said.

Insurance adjustors were expected at the site, Nov. 29, along with a cleaning company.

"The holiday pushed back some of this," Cleveland said.

The village's insurance policy has a $10,000 deductible, according to Cleveland. Monies raised during Saturday's dueling pianos will be earmarked for cleanup.

"We don't know the cost (of cleanup) at this time," Cleveland said.