Students at Our Mother of Consolation School will return to in-person classes Thursday, April 13, resuming their school year at Chestnut Hill College after a devastating fire destroyed their school building last month.

The Rev. John Fisher, the parish’s pastor, and Dr. Patricia Sheetz, the school principal, informed parents of the news in an email sent to families last night. 

“It was very important for us to identify a location that was in close proximity to our parish that would have enough space for all of the children in grades pre-K through 8 to attend classes on the same campus,” the letter said.

Parents, students school officials will meet to discuss details of the move in an orientation meeting scheduled for 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 11, in the East Parlor at the college’s Fournier Hall.

OMC teachers will begin moving into their classrooms at Chestnut Hill College at 9 a.m., Wednesday, April 12, and families are invited to assist instructors in moving books and other instructional materials into the new classrooms.

On Thursday, students will resume classes according to a normal OMC school schedule. Students are asked to arrive starting at 7:30 a.m. (to accommodate traffic flow) and dismissal will begin at 2:35 p.m. with Pre-K and kindergarten students dismissing first. The CARES afterschool program will run at Chestnut Hill College from 3 to 6 p.m. Student bus transportation will resume with pick-ups and drop-offs at the college. 

Officials of the parish, school and college finalized an agreement to move OMC students to the college earlier this week in an effort to bring a safe and successful end to the school year. OMC officials have vowed to rebuild the school.

The fire on March 21 appears to have been caused by faulty electrical wiring, according to an earlier letter signed by the pastor and the principal.

 “The official report will not likely be available for another month, but based on a verbal report the cause of the fire has been linked to a faulty electrical circuit connecting two incandescent lights in the front of the building,” that letter said.

The circuit that failed was a flexible, metallic cable that rested on the roof behind the parapet, they wrote. “In an abundance of caution, other wiring and circuitry of this type on our campus is being inspected, and any needed repairs or upgrades will be made,” they said.

Officials are now focused on recovery.

“That does come with a lot of expense, including cleanup, remediation efforts to ensure safety, and more,” said Ken Gavin, chief communications officer for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.  “A number of individuals, schools, and other organizations have donated generously to the recovery,” he said, “Funds are needed.”  La Salle College High School already has donated approximately $36,000. 

Donations can be sent directly to the parish which has organized a restricted fund for the recovery efforts.

For now, parishioners are celebrating daily mass in the rectory’s chapel, Saturday Mass at the Mother House at the Sisters of St. Joseph, and Sunday at Norwood-Fontbonne Academy including observances for Easter scheduled for Sunday, April 9. The school, one of the oldest Catholic schools in Philadelphia, is celebrating its

160th anniversary this year. The blaze appears to have sparked in the attic.  Firefighters were called to the scene at 3:40 p.m.  School had been dismissed at 2:45 p.m., but children in the aftercare program had to be evacuated and were taken in by a neighbor.  Firefighters brought the fire under control at 5:10 p.m. and continue to investigate the cause.

Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel said firefighters initially made an “aggressive interior attack” but the flames were deeply embedded in the building so they were forced to evacuate to escape the collapsing structure.

“So it was a pretty severe fire…and we’re thankful that nobody was injured.  One firefighter was taken to a hospital by EMT’ Thiel said. He described the injury as “minor.”

To donate to Our Mother of Consolation parish and school recovery efforts, visit omcschool.com