Fuqua School’s newly renovated pool house has become available to the community just in time for summer.

The pool house includes all new electrical work and plumbing through the building. The walls and ceilings have also been remodeled and painted.

The women and men’s locker rooms have been completely remodeled with new tile, showers, curtains, sinks and lockers.

Renovations followed a fire last April that caused water and smoke damage to the building.

The pool roof was also replaced and the lining of the pool has been repaired and repainted.

The total cost of the renovation, which includes repainting and repairing the lining of the pool, was $270,000 derived from insurance proceeds, school officials cited.

Head of School John Melton said the pool is open to the community, and that officials at the school are searching for ways to collaborate with other organizations with similar services.

“Fuqua has a pool with a purpose: to meet the needs of our county,” Melton said. “We are continuing to look for ways to partner with organizations in our community to share our resources.”

The Fuqua School mascot, the Falcon, was painted on the exterior of the building by students in the Upper School’s art department.

The cause of the fire, Director of Operations John Ellington said, was due to electrical complications from the house’s washer and dryer machine.

Due to the heat of the fire, Ellington said, a water line above the washer and dryer burst, causing a portion of the water damage.

Kidd’s Restoration & Cleaning Services, based in Lynchburg, provided the initial clean up following the fire and later became the contractor for the renovations.

Ellington said Grant’s Glass, of Farmville, installed the new windows, Putney Mechanical Co., of Farmville, provided the air conditioning unit, Creative Electrical Contractors, of Farmville, was used for electrical installation and Crosby Plumbing & Water Treatment, of Prince Edward, installed the plumbing.

The pool is available to the public with a membership or daily fee, and is available for parties, classes and other activities.

Zumba classes are held at the Fuqua School Pool, and Fuqua, the Southside Virginia Family YMCA and Hampden-Sydney College have collaborated to host swim competitions in each of the organization’s pools through an informal program for young swimmers called the Farmville Area Swim Team, or FAST.