Story by Felicia Jordan of WCPO.
A partial roof collapse occurred in the gymnasium area of Latonia Elementary School Wednesday, according to a spokesperson for Covington Independent Public Schools.
Covington Battalion Chief Chris Alsip told us crews were called at around 11:10 p.m. Wednesday night after reports of a roof collapse.
The spokesperson said no one was inside the building and no injuries were reported.
Social media videos online showed a large police and fire presence responding to the school just after midnight on New Year’s Day.
By 1:30 a.m., that scene had cleared, but a WCPO crew found the building still blocked off near the area where a long crack appears to have formed in the side of the building. The roof near the crack also appeared to be sagging.
The spokesperson said as of Thursday afternoon, the site was secured and damage assessments are ongoing.
It’s unclear what may have caused the damage at the school, or how severe the damage to the inside of the building may be. The spokesperson said district officials are monitoring the situation to determine if students and staff will be able to return from winter break on schedule next week.
We met with Lydia Futrell, who lives just across the street from the elementary school.
“I was up around, I’d say 11:30ish, and I thought it would just have been fireworks because we heard them popping off throughout the whole night. But after I got on the Latonia discussion page, it was not that actually. It was the gym had collapsed, or so they say,” Futrell said.
Futrell said she is grateful nobody was hurt, and students weren’t inside.
“It definitely is a scary thought to think about. I’m really glad that school wasn’t in session and we’re glad they have virtual as an option,” Futrell said.
In statement to the Covington Schools Facebook account, the district said students will not return to Latonia Elementary as scheduled next week out of an abundance of caution.
Covington Schools resumes classes on Tuesday, January 6. However, Latonia Elementary students will remain out of school that day. The entirety of Covington Schools will transition to Non-Traditional Instruction from January 7 through 9.
Furthermore, the district said is actively evaluating alternative options for housing students in the event the building is not ready for occupancy the following day.
”While we know we need to continue schooling, we are in search of the best plans for everyone involved,” Garrison said.
Read the original story here.