Repairs to Capitol Hill-Area Playground Hit by Fire Could Take Months

A Capitol Hill-area school playground damaged by a fire this summer likely won’t open completely to children by the start of classes later this month, a D.C. Public Schools representative said today.

Repairs to the Miner Elementary School playground are expected to take until September or October to complete, DCPS spokeswoman Anna Gregory said. But the school at 601 15th St. NE is set to begin classes Aug. 24.

During the playground closure, students will have use of other play equipment and a field.

“The replacement equipment to repair the damaged equipment has been ordered, and repairs will begin as soon as those items arrive,” Gregory said in an email.

The July 29 fire severely damaged a slide and a staircase at the playground.

When a Hill Now reporter visited the area this week, orange netting wrapped around the section of the playground hit by the blaze. The slide and the stairway also were gone.

Fencing was installed in the playground to block access to the areas where the slide and the staircase once stood.

Police still are investigating the cause of the fire, Gregory said. The blaze caused no injuries.