Date: Fri 20-Feb-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

schools-NHS-heating-pipes

Full Text:

Heating Pipes Burst At NHS

(with cuts)

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Mid-afternoon last Sunday, February 15, firefighters responded to Newtown High

School after four copper heating pipes burst in a third-floor science lab in

the school's new addition, causing considerable water damage to that room, to

the new lecture hall on the floor below, and to the foyer adjacent to the

school's new cafeteria.

Twenty-seven Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company firefighters went to

the school to help clean up the mess, according to Sandy Hook Fire Chief Bill

Halstead.

A water-filled heating coil in Room A-205 froze and burst, causing "a

substantial amount of damage...to three floors," he said.

After the ceiling-mounted heating coil burst, hot water ran into the science

lab, into the third-story corridor and other rooms on the third floor. It then

found its way into the new second-story lecture room, soaking its ceiling,

seating and carpets. The hot water then drained downward into the foyer next

to the school's new cafeteria, resulting in "a large amount of damage," Chief

Halstead said. A photocopier was drenched by the leaking water, he said.

A damage estimate was not available. Overall repair costs will be better known

after all affected areas are thoroughly inspected for damage.

Firefighters worked quickly to suck up the spilled water with water vacuums,

the fire chief said. One firefighter was treated at the scene for heat

exhaustion caused by the high temperatures firefighters encountered in

removing the hot water, he said. Firefighters spent three hours at the high

school cleaning up the mess.

Chief Halstead complimented school maintenance staffers for their cooperation

in handling the incident.

Dom Posca, supervisor of buildings and grounds for the public schools, said

"The Sandy Hook Fire Department was fabulous" in complimenting the three dozen

volunteers who went to the high school to help clean up the water damage.

Mr Posca said some cold air apparently found its way into the heating system

mounted above the ceiling of Room A-205. The heating coil froze and broke away

from a radiator in four places. Water flows through such heating coils at a

temperature of 150 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

The cold air may have gotten into the building via a laboratory air-exhaust

hood.

Mr Posca estimated that approximately 2,000 gallons of water leaked into the

school from the pressurized, half-inch diameter copper heating coil. He

compared the leaking coil to a moderate flow of water from four running garden

hoses.

Among items damaged by the leaking water were cabinetry in the science lab,

carpeting and seating in the lecture hall, sheetrock, ceiling tiles and

insulation, Mr Posca said.

The carpeting in the lecture hall will have to be replaced, Mr Posca said, as

he pulled up a saturated section of the carpet to show its deterioration. He

also used a hydro-vacuum to extract water which had permeated seat cushions on

fixed chairs in the lecture hall.

The water-damaged science lab may reopen in a week or so, after replacement

parts are installed, Mr Posca said. When the lecture hall will reopen is

unclear, he said, adding it may take several weeks to get it ready for

occupancy. Students who normally use the science lab will be studying in a

spare classroom until the lab is repaired, he said.

Costs to repair the water damage will be covered by the insurance policy of

O&G Industries, the general contractor on the high school expansion project,

Mr Posca said. The high school addition opened last September.