By Abigail W. Adams
Burn marks are visible in the insulation surrounding a removed light fixture in the Whitefield Elementary School gym in April. The light fixtures were installed as part of a $1.2 million construction project in 1987-1988. After more than two months of renovations, the gym is once again open. (Abigail Adams photo) |
The Whitefield Elementary School gym opened to the public Monday, June 8 after months of renovations following the second light fixture fire to break out in the gym in one year. A light fixture in the school’s gym overheated in March, melting the plastic diffuser covering it, which dripped onto the gym floor, igniting it in the same manner of a March 2014 gym fire.
According to a May 2015 report from the Maine Electricians’ Examining Board, the fires were caused by improperly installed light fixtures – a fire hazard not included in the State Fire Marshal’s Office inspection following the 2014 fire.
The light fixtures in the gymnasium were installed in 1987-1988 as part of a $1.2 million addition to the Whitefield Elementary School. While the electrical issues with the light fixtures were not discovered until 2015, several fire code violations were identified in fire inspection reports that date back 30 years.
Through the use of RSU 12’s recently signed energy conservation performance contract, the fire hazard posed by the gym’s light fixtures has been addressed, in addition to lingering problems from the 1987 construction project and some long-standing fire code violations.
“As much as a challenge as the fire’s been, the gym looks better than ever and the school is going to be a more comfortable and safer place,” Whitefield Elementary School Principal Joshua McNaughton said.
The Whitefield Elementary School underwent a $1.2 million construction project in 1987 when the school, now part of RSU 12, was a part of School Union 51. REA Associates/Architects, of Auburn, won the bid to complete the design and oversee the construction of the school’s addition.
Advice about prospective contractors and assistance in obtaining and negotiating bids and construction contracts were among the basic services offered by the company, according to their 1985 proposal submitted to School Union 51.
REA Associates completed projects at a number of schools, including West Bath School, Monson Elementary School, Kittery Point Elementary School, and Winthrop Middle School, according to the proposal.
The construction contract was awarded to the Beaver Corporation, of Malden, Mass., in May 1987. According to the contract agreement, the Beaver Corporation was to perform all work for the $1,285,185 construction project, which was to be completed by August 1988.
The construction project, however, was wrought with delays and unforeseen complications and expenses, according to documents in the RSU 12 archives. Six months into construction, the Beaver Corporation replaced the official overseeing the project.
The Beaver Corporation brought in subcontractors to perform work at the school. Work was completed by South China Plumbing & Heating, Custom Drywall, All Kinds of Masonry, and Don’s Electric. According to documents, Don’s Electric completed the wiring and installation of the light fixtures in the addition.
Since the completion of the $1.2 million construction project in 1988, the light fixtures in the Whitefield Elementary School gymnasium have posed a fire hazard. It was not discovered until 2015.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office completed an inspection of Whitefield Elementary School following the March 2014 light fixture fire. The inspection uncovered a list of fire code violations, many of which were also included in a 1988 fire inspection conducted by the North Whitefield, Kings Mills, and Coopers Mills volunteer fire departments following the completion of the construction project.
An examination of the light fixtures by the Electricians’ Examining Board, however, was not requested by the fire marshal’s office following the 2014 fire. The Electricians’ Examining Board is responsible for inspecting electrical systems, however, their services must be requested by the fire marshal’s office.
Following the 2015 light fixture fire, light fixtures unconnected to the fire were removed and examined by state electrical inspectors and an electrical engineer brought in by the school’s insurance company. Burn marks were found in the insulation surrounding every light fixture and the sheetrock above the light fixtures. Electrical wiring that ran directly over the light fixtures was melted in places.
According to a report by an inspector with the Electricians’ Examining Board, the “fire was caused by the improper installation of the ceiling light fixture.” Light fixtures were installed flush with the insulation – a required 11-inch clearance between the light fixtures and the insulation was not observed.
The Beaver Corporation has since gone out of business and the statute of limitations to bring claims against a company has long since expired, according to The Lincoln County News archives.
Don’s Electric, of Monmouth, is still in operation. The owner of the company at the time of the 1987-1988 project, however, passed away in 2014 and the company’s current management and staff have no knowledge of the project, a spokeswoman said.
As part of RSU 12’s energy conservation performance contract, a loan to support energy-efficient improvements at public schools, every light fixture in Whitefield Elementary School will be replaced, with the majority already installed. However, the improperly installed light fixtures were limited to the gym, McNaughton said.
The school has also been reinsulated through the performance contract. According to McNaughton, the school was poorly insulated with open areas in the addition where the roof met the walls. The area has now been sealed with fire-retardant insulation, McNaughton said.
Whitefield Elementary School will also have a new boiler installed in July through the contract. According to McNaughton, the school got so cold at times, due to the inefficient heating system, classrooms had to be closed. “We joke that we’re going to have a sweater sale,” McNaughton said.
Telephones will also be installed in each classroom over the summer, McNaughton said. Both the 1988 and the 2014 fire inspection reports listed the size of the windows in the elementary school’s K-4 wing as a fire code violation, due to their inability to serve as an exit because of their small size.
Those windows and the siding around them have been replaced, bringing the windows up to code for the first time in approximately 30 years.
According to McNaughton, the last remaining fire code violation at the elementary school involves the duct work in the kitchen. The fire marshal’s office has been given a design and the school is waiting for the fire marshal’s office to sign off on the work before it is completed. The duct work is also expected to take place over the summer.
Mold was discovered under the floorboards of the gym when renovations following the fire were taking place. An air quality company was brought in to do testing and investigate for further signs of mold, McNaughton said. The mold was limited to a small section of the gym floor and is suspected to have been caused by water used to put out the fire.
McNaughton estimated damages from the fires cost roughly $100,000 each, with the insurance company covering the majority of the costs. Approximately $746,000 from the performance contract will be spent on Whitefield Elementary School, RSU 12 Superintendent Howard Tuttle said.
With new flooring, freshly painted walls, and new lighting, work in the Whitefield Elementary School gym is complete and the gym is once again open to students after being sealed off for over two months. Approximately 30 years after a $1.2 million construction project installed a fire hazard in the school, Whitefield Elementary School has also addressed some long-standing fire code violations.
