ONANCOCK, VA – Restoration work is set to begin at the Historic Onancock School after a fire closed the building in January.
There was a major fire at the Historic Onancock School community center on the morning of January 31.
Units from Parksley, Tasley, Onancock, Melfa, Painter, and Wachapreague responded to the scene. No one was injured.
"It was pretty shocking,” Executive Director Corey Kavulich said of walking through the space for the first time after the fire. "You know, you kind of see what the building was that you come into every day and then all the repairs that need to be done."
Most of the building remains off-limits, but cleanup crews have finished their work.
"Basically, we got all the smoke out of the building and some of the soot and now we're going to be going into the phase of restoring the building,” Kavulich said.
The cleanup and restoration costs are being covered by insurance. Around 24 artists, crafters and entrepreneurs have been displaced since the fire.
"Felt horrible that they were displaced and wanted to do whatever we could to help them,” Lynne Kretzer of the Metamorphosis art gallery in Onancock said.
Kretzer offered up part of her gallery to display one of the displaced artist’s paintings while her studio in the school is closed. She also said other local artists have opened up their home studios to some of those displaced by the fire.
The town of Onancock is also hosting regular pop-up events to highlight the work of those artists and crafters.
While the interior of the Historic Onancock School remains closed, exterior use is still open and outdoor events are moving ahead as scheduled.
"Use of the grounds, we still have our playground, our walking trail, our disc golf course, as well as the soccer field," Kavulich said.