S.J.'s Pioneer High hit by five-alarm fire
By Dan Reed and Julia Prodis Sulek
Mercury News, Posted on Mon, Dec. 01, 2003
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/7386021.htm
ESL970G students: Find sentences with passive voice constructions. Identify the subject and verb. Put curly brackets around the complete verb {xxxxx xxxxx}. Identify the verb tense. Identify the sentence type: simple, compound or complex. Afterwards, rewrite the sentence using active voice. Keep the same meaning and the same tense. You may need to find a logical subject for the active voice verb that does not appear in the passive construction.
Check your sentences with mine. Then find an article of your choice, do a similar analysis (details are on the answer page) and post your sentences on the Discussion Board.
A five-alarm fire defied a damp evening and raged through the Performing Arts Center at Pioneer High School on Blossom Hill Road in San Jose on Sunday night, the latest in a string of Bay Area school fires that have been costly but probably not related.
No one was injured in the blaze, which was reported at 8:44 p.m. and drew 105 firefighters.
The fire is believed to have started near the stage, where lighting and sound equipment is stored, said Allison Cabral, a San Jose Fire Department spokeswoman. Fire investigators were on the scene Sunday night and will return today, picking through the debris to determine whether the equipment might have sparked the fire.
Because the stage and backstage area are against the side of the building, it was impossible for investigators to tell whether the fire started inside the building, or was set outside.
``They have to rule out a lot of electrical equipment or something else as possible causes,'' Cabral said of investigators. Those possibilities will have to be ruled out before arson can be addressed as a cause.
The building also contained the cafeteria, teachers lounge and kitchen area -- cafe by day, theater by night, one observer put it.
The blaze was ``knocked down,'' Sunday night, Cabral said -- but not put out, because firefighters were still going through embers.
Two things brought the blaze under control quickly. ``Firefighters mounted an aggressive attack,'' tearing a hole in the roof, Cabral said. The opening allowed the flames to spread up instead of out.
The other factor was sprinklers behind the stage, she said. ``Sprinklers helped keep the fire in check. And firefighters did a helluva job ventilating that roof,'' Cabral said.
Band director Ken Roberts stood across the street Sunday night with about two dozen parents and students. The building is ``the life of the performing arts here,'' he said.
He said fundraisers paid for royal-blue curtains, and lighting and sound. ``A lot of blood, sweat and tears in there,'' he said, ``and right now, a lot of tears.''
School was set to resume today for the 1,200 students and 65 teachers because the fire did not damage classrooms.
This is the latest of eight Bay Area school fires in the past two months that have destroyed classrooms, playground equipment, bathrooms and a computer lab.
Investigators from San Jose, Concord, San Leandro, Fairfield and Walnut Creek have labeled all the fires suspicious -- but do not believe the fires are connected.
At Pioneer, the performing arts are actively supported by parents groups, who put on shows to raise money. Sunday night, a few of the parents gathered across the street to mourn the loss.
``Our first fundraiser was seven years ago. We raised money for chairs and tables that have just melted,'' said Lori Basuino.
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