Two fires at school in SF's Outer Richmond unnerve parents

Yahoo

21-05-2025

The Brief
Two fires weeks apart damage shed and destroy playground at Lafayette Elementary in SF
San Francisco police and firefighters investigating
Playground now blocked by fencing, adorned by decorations
SAN FRANCISCO - Two fires at an elementary school in San Francisco's Outer Richmond have unnerved parents and left students without a playground.
"The first fire just felt awful and sad. The second fire has a lot of us feeling angry and scared," said Hallie Albert, a parent and PTA vice president at Lafayette Elementary School.
The first fire on May 1 destroyed items in the PTA's shed, like spirit wear and carnival games that had been used for years.
"Pretty much everything burned, there was nothing salvageable," Albert said. The items have since been replaced through donations.
But late Sunday night, the playground at the school near 36th Avenue and Anza Street went up in flames.
"They extinguished the fire," Albert said. "It did not spread to the building, but the playground is pretty much a melted pile of mess."
Rubber mats were uprooted, and the play structure was charred and warped beyond repair.
"Why would you wanna ruin a play structure? I don't get it. It doesn't make sense," said parent Mark Won.
San Francisco police and firefighters are investigating. On Tuesday, an officer canvassed the neighborhood for tips and video, trying to determine if one or more arsonists could be to blame.
"It doesn't seem reasonable to believe that this is random or just happened that there were two fires," Albert said.
Parents have since helped put up a fence around the playground to block the view and decorated it with yarn.
"When they caught the playground on fire, like, I know a lot of kids were disappointed," said student Jada Hollingworth, 11. "They were like, 'Oh, the playground caught on fire last night, so we can't play on it anymore.'"
Her father, Buddy Hollingsworth had this message to whoever was responsible.
"Man, cut it out. Like, this is a really close-knit community," he said. "Take your anger and hatred somewhere else."
Police are stepping up patrols, and the district has assigned a security guard to keep an extra eye on the school
In a statement, the San Francisco Unified School District said in part, "The cause remains under investigation and we are taking the situation very seriously. Until the investigation is complete, we are not making assumptions about the causes of the fires."
Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at [e-mail] and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan
The Source
KTVU reporting, San Franciso Unified School District