DaytonDailyNews.com

WASHINGTON TWP., Montgomery County — Spring Valley Academy will resume classes Monday, Sept. 15, at the Kettering Seventh-day Adventist Church and in six classrooms in the Kettering College of Medical Arts adjacent to the Kettering Medical Center on Southern Boulevard in Kettering.

Students and teachers who normally drive to the school have been asked to car pool if possible, as only 50 parking spaces are available at the church, the drop-off point for all students Monday. They've also been asked to bring a brown bag lunch Monday, though other arrangements may be forthcoming, with high school students possibly using the hospital cafeteria and church kitchen facilities.

The school, 1461 E. Spring Valley Road, suffered $400,000 in damage Monday and still smelled strongly of acrid smoke Thursday, though fans were airing it out. The K-12 school has 293 students.

Spring Valley Academy Principal Jeff Bovee said classes will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. each school day.

Frank Perez, chairman of the board for the Seventh-day Adventist school, said students will use the temporary locations for about two weeks while the board works on a long-term solution.

"We believe it will probably be several months before we can be back in this building," Perez said. The fire hit the "nerve center" of the building where all of the school's electrical and communication lines pass through, Perez said. The fire knocked out the early fire alarm system, so someone in the building had to call 911 to alert the fire department.

Ed Lyons, who teaches at the school, said he was in the building when the fire broke out and was the last one out of the building. "I crawled under the smoke, which I saw begin to come out of the maintenance room. Then it got real thick real fast. I grabbed my laptop and got out," Lyons said.

Perez said the school is fully insured. A commercial restoration company was working Thursday morning to repair the damage.

The fire was accidental and electrical in nature, Perez said.

Bovee said he has gotten numerous offers of help and prayers from around the state.

After the fire "it was around 48 hours before I had any sleep," Bovee said. "There was so much to be done and I felt I had to be here to protect the school until the adjustors could come. For some schools this would be the end. This is a new beginning for our school."

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2341 or kullmer@DaytonDailyNews.com.