The adjusted start date is August 24. New students will move in on August 20, and returning students on August 22 and 23.
Ricky Pruitt, Cleveland's fire chief, said it is likely lightning from a passing storm sparked the blaze on July 4, which partially burned an electrical equipment room in the athletic center, caused extensive smoke damage and charred some bleachers.
TMC Public Safety Officer Scott Taylor, who discovered the fire, was treated at a local hospital for smoke inhalation after fighting the blaze with a fire extinguisher.
"It was the worst lightning I had ever seen," Taylor said. "I got the whiff of a type of electric burning smell, and so I went chasing after it."
School administrators commended Taylor for his quick thinking, saying it is possible the building would have been a total loss if he had not acted as quickly as he did.
TMC President Emir Caner commented on the situation in an email from Thailand, where he has accompanied TMC students on a mission trip.
"When lightning struck our gym, our plates, already full with other projects, overflowed. While we could have made campus conditions adequate for our new and returning students by the former move-in day of August 13, I believe it honors the students far more to postpone move-in day one week as well as the beginning of classes."
Students with questions regarding the postponement should contact TMC's Student Services via email: [email protected], or call 706.865.2134, x.123.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2011/7/240522