By LCN Staff
This light fixture in the Whitefield Elementary School gym ceiling caught fire on March 10, 2014. A similar light fixture caught fire in the gym on March 27, 2015, according Whitefield Fire Chief Scott Higgins. (Photo courtesy of RSU 12) |
Updated April 1 at 2:15 p.m.
Students were evacuated and sent home from Whitefield Elementary School March 27 after a fire started in a gymnasium light fixture just before 10 a.m.
Once the alarm sounded, students were evacuated to a secure location next door. They were subsequently dismissed at 11:15 a.m. and transported home by bus. An alert
was sent out to parents earlier in the day.
According to Whitefield Fire Chief Scott Higgins, the fire started in a light fixture in the same manner as a fire in another of the gymnasium’s light fixtures on
March 10, 2014.
Whitefield Fire Department was paged out at around 10 a.m. Other area departments were paged out a few minutes later but several were recalled soon thereafter.
Firefighters used 1¾-inch hose to extinguish the fire, but there was damage to the gym floor and Higgins described extensive smoke damage in the building.
According to a statement emailed to parents from Whitefield School Principal Josh McNaughton Saturday, March 28, Whitefield staff and students will convene in the
Chelsea Elementary School facility from Tuesday, March 31 until the Whitefield facility reopens. Whitefield students did not have school Monday.
“With the extent of the fire damage, we are currently working to determine when we will reopen,” McNaughton said. “I would like to thank Chelsea School Principal
Andy Doiron and his staff for the efforts they are putting forth preparing for our arrival and use of their facility.”
Bus routes and pickup times will remain unchanged for Whitefield students, except the drivers will continue on to Chelsea. In the afternoon, students will be
dismissed at 2 p.m., which should have students arriving home from school very close to the time they would normally be dropped off, McNaughton said.
Over the course of this week, the Whitefield school facility will undergo several inspections, including an inspection of the kitchen, electrical system, and roof in
the area of the fire.
A professional cleaning crew will be brought in to address the fire damage, which was contained to ceiling tiles, a small area of wall below the fire, and a section
of gymnasium flooring, McNaughton said.
“As staff gathers their thoughts following this fire, we are greatly thankful everyone is safe,” McNaughton said in his email. “We will work hard to ensure our
school can reopen as soon as possible and be a safe place to educate our students. We appreciate everyone’s patience and offers of support with this situation.”
According to Sgt. Ken Grimes, of the State Fire Marshal’s Office, the fire started when the light fixture overheated, melting and igniting a “translucent plastic
diffuser,” which shielded the light. Once the diffuser lost its form, it dripped onto the floor below, igniting the floor, Grimes said.
Grimes said he has asked a member of the state’s Electricians Examining Board to inspect the fixture once it is removed from the ceiling. To his knowledge, that had
not been done as of March 31, Grimes said.
Whitefield Elementary School was closed for a week after the March 2014 fire due to the need for extensive cleaning of the dust and chemicals from a fire
extinguisher custodian Lewis Shorey used to put the fire out, according to The Lincoln County News archives.
At the time, McNaughton estimated cost of the cleaning and repairs would reach $100,000. Nearly 750 ceiling tiles in the gym and cafeteria were replaced.
