School Officials Get Sprung –

Escape From Fairfield Hills

By Steve Bigham

& Jeff White

A reconnaissance mission went slightly awry last Friday afternoon as three top ranking school officials narrowly escaped having to spend the weekend locked inside Canaan House at Fairfield Hills.

Had it not been for Zoning Enforcement Officer Gary Frenette, there’s no saying what might have happened to John Reed, Ron Bienkowski, and Dominic Posca.

The three men were on a tour of the massive building, which once served as home to hundreds of patients within the former state mental health hospital. The Board of Education has plans to move their offices to the Fairfield Hills campus next year.

As the three men entered a section of Canaan House, a door accidentally locked behind them. Trapped for nearly 30 minutes, the three men tried unsuccessfully to free themselves. Even the handy Dominic Posca, the school system’s director of buildings and grounds, was unsuccessful at picking the lock.

“Dom always has a mechanical answer for everything,” Dr Reed mused this week. “I figured it was a no-brainer. But when he ran out of answers, I knew we were in a bit of a jam.”

Because many of the rooms were once used to house mental health patients, most of the doors lock from the inside.

  Running out of options, the three men were reduced to banging on the door and yelling to passersby. Mr Bienkowski said he would have gladly climbed out a window. However, all the windows are barred, thwarting such an escape. The school’s business director also contemplated pulling the fire alarm.

Several passersby  spotted the three school officials through the door, but continued on their way. Finally, a town employee stumbled upon the scene and summoned Gary Frenette. Using what he described later as a “sleight of hand,” Mr Frenette managed to open the door, freeing the three captives.

Although Mr Frenette does not see himself as a hero, the three school officials say the ZEO epitomizes the term “public servant.”

  A humble John Reed told of the experience at Tuesday night’s Board of Education meeting “so the board doesn’t have to read it in the paper first.” After several minutes of laughter, the Board of Education managed to move on to more serious issues at hand.

“If we had gone over any later, we could have had a much more interesting stay. Friday night at Canaan House was not on my agenda,” the schools chief said.

  Dr Reed could only chuckle after hearing that Gary Frenette went to The Bee with the tale.

  “Gary is probably someone who waits at the curb for Thursday afternoon to get a fresh copy of The Bee,” he joked.

  The superintendent said he plans to change the locks on the doors before the Board of Education moves in next year.