When Lisa Diaz saw the flames the night of Nov. 22 from Hwy. 280, she called her husband's parents, who live near Gardner, to make sure they were safe. Diaz's in-laws have lived near the school since 1957, and her husband, Miguel, and his brothers all attended the neighborhood school on Illinois Avenue. Three of their children graduated from Gardner, and their youngest, a third-grader, whose classroom burned, was "devastated," Miguel said.

His daughter was mainly concerned about their class pet, a rabbit named Happy, he said, adding that he didn't tell her that the animal didn't survive.

Lisa recalled the students' graduation ritual of going to the second story of the main building and ringing the bell the day they graduated while the parents waited downstairs.

"Where's the bell?" she said, noticing that it was no longer visible.

The Diazes said the outpouring of support they witnessed has been incredible, with one person leaving an anonymous cash donation and many former principals and retired teachers returning to offer moral support. But it took an event as tragic as a school fire to bring the community together.

"I just can't believe it's gone," Miguel said. "It's something people are going to remember for a long time."

The four-alarm fire called for 95 firefighters to put out the blaze. Firefighters from Fire Station 30 responded first to the scene. They arrived at 9:40 p.m., after a neighbor reported smoke and flames at the school at 9:36 p.m., said Capt. Alison Cabral, the fire department's press information officer.

Cabral said she was told police also responded to a burglar alarm at the school, but could not confirm the time.

Station 30 Fire Capt. Mike Shaw called for a second alarm upon arrival, beginning the attack on the fire with 25 firefighters. Shaw also said that the school's fire alarm was not working when he arrived.

As fire personnel forced entry into the locked building, Shaw said they were able to confirm "the fire was in the roof structure."

The metal roof prevented an immediate attack on the flames in the attic, so firefighters cut an opening with a chain saw, Shaw said. By then, the fire had spread to another section of the attic and the roof was too slippery to stand on, sending firefighters up on ladders to point hoses into the building, he said.

Shaw added that the fire hydrant on Illinois Avenue was at the end of a water main and did not have enough pressure for two hoses. Other fire hydrants were also used, drenching the building with 4,000 gallons of water per minute.

As the fire grew progressively worse toward midnight, the third and fourth alarms were called, said Fire Battalion Chief Bob King, which brought 12 fire engine companies, five truck companies and five battalion chiefs.

Twelve police units were also dispatched to help with traffic and crowd control, according to San Jose Police Department reports.

Finally around 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning, the fire came under control, said Station 6 Fire Capt. Mark Skeen.

About 20 teachers watched as the fire destroyed the heart of their school. The administration office, library, computer labs and seven classrooms were destroyed in the blaze.

"It was very difficult. We were devastated and distraught," said drop-out prevention counselor Leticia Del Moral, whose office burned. Del Moral lost some toys stored in her office, which she had been saving for the toy drive for students at the school.

During the blaze, crowds hung back filled with emotion and gazed on the destruction. Many watching were the parents of students and family members who had attended the school.

"It's devastating," said Greater Gardner Advisory Council board member Norma Jean Mendez. She added it was especially hard to see this happen since the district recently completed a $4.5 million renovation at the school during the summer.

Analicia Torres, 17, a former Gardner student, came to take pictures with her mother on Sunday for her scrapbook.

"It's a shame," Torres said. "The district's on a tight budget, but my main concern is the children. Thank God none of them were in there."

On Nov. 23, the day after the fire started, investigators immediately began questioning witnesses, going door-to-door in an effort to determine the cause. And while they were investigating the fire, an unforeseen twist arose.

Fire investigator Capt. Mike Mooney said the department called in the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) agency and the FBI to help determine any possible connections to a hate crime, after swastikas and other graffiti were found on the building.

Then on Nov. 26, during a press conference at Gardner Academy, San Jose Fire Chief Dale Foster said, " We are declaring it an arson, but there is no direct tie in between the graffiti and the fire."

Mooney added that the investigators are not connecting the graffiti to the fire but are looking into the possibility that "several acts were happening at the same time."

He added that investigators have direct evidence that the fire was started as a result of arson but would not disclose what that evidence was because the investigation is still ongoing.

He did, however, acknowledge that the type of arson was similar to what had occurred in December 2002 at Independence High School—part of the East Side Union High School District—with the fire starting on the outside of the building.

As to the actual time the fire started, Mooney said, investigators were not ready to disclose that information at this time.

And no matter what the cause, the immediate problem facing the district was the 460 students and 28 teachers who needed classrooms.

Students were back at school on Nov. 24, awaiting school buses to carry them to Horace Mann and Galarza elementary schools, where their classes were temporarily relocated. Students in the unburned classrooms—13 classrooms survived the fire—will return to the campus on Dec. 1, said San Jose Unified School District spokeswoman Karen Fuqua. And the district plans to return all the students and staff to Gardner by the week of Dec. 8, using portable classrooms.

Fuqua said the district's emergency crisis team met all Sunday to determine how to proceed and to arrange busing and use of empty classrooms at two other schools.

After hearing about the fire, Gardner retired teacher Mary Parks showed up on Monday to assist children with finding their teachers and getting on the right bus.

"I'm impressed at how smoothly it's going," Parks said. "Everybody has confidence; it's a tremendous tribute to the teachers."

Fuqua said the busing and relocation went like "clockwork" and "parents felt safe to come to us."

Gardner Academy Principal Mildred Arellano said, "I am just impressed with the way the district mobilized," crediting teachers' hard work late Sunday with making it "the smoothest transition."

Help from outside the school also poured in, Arellano said.

Director of elementary education Rosa Molina said 20 other elementary schools donated supplies and parents arrived en masse to help teachers gather supplies and worksheets.

"It was a classroom teacher's dream," Molina said.

Two fourth-graders who lost their classroom, Karina Valencia and Jennifer De La Torre, said they cried over their losses and everything that their teacher lost in the fire, while sitting in a Galarza classroom. But their teacher reminded them that everyone was safe.

Karina also said she lost her glasses, which were burned in the fire, after having left them in her desk.

And Jennifer added, "It's not going to be the same."

But over the long-term, Molina said, "We've a very resilient school. They can roll with it."

The school's parents organization, Hablemos, also immediately went into action.

Kathryn Billington, the president of the parents group, asked local businesses for donations to help low-income students who qualify for a free breakfast. Billington coordinated with Willow Glen's Noah's Bagels, Food Max and Peet's Coffee and Tea to provide a warm meal.

She also said about 20 parents accompanied students on the first day after the fire to Horace Mann and Galarza elementary schools to serve as "gofers" for teachers making photocopies of worksheets so students would have something to do. Costco also donated copy paper, Scotch tape and crayons, she added.

"We're doing everything we can to minimize the impact on learning," Billington said.

San Jose Unified School District board trustee Carol Myers said the PTA and teachers at Booksin and Schallenberger elementary schools also offered to donate materials.

"The real tragedy is the teachers lost all their valuable supplies and books," Parks said, adding that she had heard the Oak Grove School District offered supplies.

But with Gardner Academy's low test scores and "a blow like this" gutting the library and destroying two-thirds of the school's computers, Billington is worried that it will be even more difficult "to be judged by test scores." Arellano said the school was grateful for the "great outpouring" of support.

"In a difficult situation, the way people came together made it easier," she said.

Even Willow Glen High School student Torres said, "I will do anything I can to raise money."

According to Fuqua, the building is insured, but the district will have to pay the $150,000­200,000 deductible from their general funds. The district has not set a monetary loss on the disaster yet, she said.

And during such tough economic times, parents and community members worried aloud at the Greater Gardner Neighborhood Action Committee meeting on Nov. 24 that the district may decide to shut down the school when it goes through its consolidation process.

Mendez said she was "really concerned that its perfect timing and the opportunity" to close Gardner Academy permanently.

Principal Arellano said she hasn't heard anything about consolidation and the district's whole effort is to "quickly get the students back on campus."

District 3 Councilwoman Cindy Chavez said the school plays "a hub role in the community" and whatever the neighborhood desires, the city will support.

Myers, who represents Willow Glen schools, said it was important to move ahead with children's education and get the community involved.

"It's the perfect opportunity to reach out and help people this time of year," Myers said.

And as a measure of community support, Intel Foundation donated $15,000 to Gardner Academy on Nov. 24.

"We're hoping the Willow Glen community will come forward and help us with donations and fundraisers," said parent Corina Vera, adding that the school needs books and up-to-date computers.

For more information about the school's toy drive, call the school at 408.535.6225. To make a donation, write a check to Hablemos at any Washington Mutual Bank. The parents organization is also asking for volunteers to help with a schoolwide cleanup, at 502 Illinois Ave., on Dec. 4 and 5.

Anyone with information about the fire is asked to contact the arson hotline at 27.ARSON or 408.272.2766.