Fire proves no fun for kids

Fresno Unified nurses see rise in respiratory problems, and youths forgo outdoor sports.

By Donald E. Coleman
The Fresno Bee

(Updated Wednesday, January 22, 2003, 8:39 AM)

Nurses throughout Fresno Unified School District report a dramatic increase in respiratory problems among schoolchildren since a debris fire ignited in West Fresno 11 days ago.

At Jane Addams Elementary School, one of the closest to the smoldering woodpile, about 10% of the students have asthma, and visits to the school nurse have increased threefold, said Principal Teresa Calderon. Tuesday, children were again being kept inside.

About 124,000 children in the San Joaquin Valley and one in six children in Fresno County suffer with asthma.

The bad air lingering over the city prompted Fresno Unified to continue the cancellation of outdoor after-school sports and practices through midnight today, said Jill Marmolejo, a district spokeswoman.

"On Thursday, air quality will again be assessed in order to make a decision about outdoor activities," Marmolejo said.

At Addams school, about two miles northeast of the fire, Calderon was taking no chances. The students were on a "rainy day" schedule meaning no recess, no outdoor games and no outside after-school recreation programs.

"We have about 100 students with asthma and some severe," Calderon said. "When this started, some parents called and were concerned. We're going to make sure they're not exposed a lot."

The only outside exposure the students were getting Tuesday consisted of walks to the cafeteria, to the bus and when school was out.

"We received an e-mail from the district today that said if you can smell or see smoke, it's best to err on the side of the students and keep them inside," Calderon said.

Marmolejo said that across the district, nurses were reporting colds, sore throats, breathing problems and other related illnesses.

Jessie Moua, a worker with the Neighbor Resource Center at Addams, said most kindergarten students had a difficult time last week.

"They were covering their noses and their mouths," Moua said.

"The air hurts their lungs. It's not just the smoke, but the air was filled with paper and other things. We wanted them to shut the school down."

After the district confined students inside last week, the children got a break from the restrictions in the form of a three-day weekend because of the Martin Luther King holiday.

While students at Addams were being kept in on the first day back, they were shooting basketballs and playing at Lincoln Elementary in southwest Fresno and at Madison Elementary, about two miles southwest of the still-smoldering fire.

"They need to get out and release some energy," said Lincoln Principal Mike Jones. "They can go a day or two inside, but by the second or third day, their behavior oscillates."

Jones says the children don't understand the concept of a 'rainy day' schedule when it's not raining.

He said the district has granted them the discretion to let the kids out or to keep them inside.

"This is terrible," Jones said. "You usually think of 'Spare the Air Days' in the middle of summer, not in the middle of winter."

At Madison, in the Central Unified School District, Principal Peter Tozlian said children were kept inside last week, but school officials were told the conditions had abated somewhat.

Tozlian said teachers have lists of children with respiratory diseases and are prepared to have them go to the nurse's office at the first sign of trouble.

"We have not seen an increased number of referrals," to the nurse, Tozlian said. "We had a few parents call us, but we try to set their minds at ease as much as possible."

Marmolejo said while each of the district's schools has some discretion, that ends if they can see or smell the smoke.

"We're not going to jeopardize the children," she said. "All it takes is one time. What we're doing is for the better good of the children."

The reporter can be reached at dcoleman@fresnobee.com or 441-6360.

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