SHS opens after transformer fire
Published on March 19th, 2008
STONEHAM, MA - After a prolonged closure due to "smoke infiltration" after a fire at Stoneham High School last week, the SHS doors again opened on Friday March 14 for school after extensive cleaning by the ServePro cleaning company.
In all the Stoneham High School student body missed four days of school due to the Monday morning transformer fire on March 3, and the graduating senior class will not be required to make the days. In fact, the underclassmen may also not have to make up the time at the back end of the SHS school schedule in June, as Superintendent Dr. Les Olson has filed for a waiver with the DOE to end classes at the current date of June 17.
If the waiver is rejected then SHS would tentatively hold its last day of classes on June 23.
Schools are allowed to apply for the waiver if there was a unique event within a town that keeps the schoolchildren out of a particular school during the school year.
"We have applied for a waiver," said Olson in an email. "Graduation will remain unchanged, but we will need to hear from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education before we can set a last day for grades 9-11 and the staff."
Teachers and students alike were back at the job last Friday morning, and Olson lauded the work done by the Stoneham Fire and Police Departments as well as Stoneham's Board of Health - which all worked in concert together to insure that the Stoneham High halls were safe upon the student body's return on Friday.
"The School was closed on Monday after a brief transformer fire that allowed smoke to enter the building. Over the follwing 72 hours, the school had undergone a thorough cleaning by Servpro of Stoneham/Wakefield," said Olson. "Their work has been monitored by both the local Stoneham Board of Health, who ordered the building closed on Monday, and by a private industrial hygenist, Covino Environmental Associates. Inc. of Woburn."
"A final round of air quality testing by Covino and final inspection by the Board of Health [Thursday] allowed for the decision by the Board to allow the school to reopen tomorrow," added Olson. "While the School Department realizes the inconvenience and uncertainty caused by the closure, it is of primary importance that we ensure the health and safety of our students and staff. We appreciate the support of the Board of Health in this effort."
The fire began around roughly 8:30 a.m. Monday morning and the power went out at the high school, and Stoneham High School officials evacuated the student body to the cafeteria during the actual fire and then classes were promptly cancelled on Monday.
Cleanup crews were at the high school on Tuesday morning to assess the smoke damage on the second floor above the fire and clean up any remaining evidence of the fire in the transformer room in a remote spot at the high school.
"This was an instance where the local fire departments and police departments as well as school officials and parents all worked together to deal with this as seamlessly as possible," said Stoneham Superintendent of Schools Dr. Les Olsen. "You always hate to miss a day or two of school, but we wanted to err on the side of caution and make sure that we have the kids' safety in mind first."
NSTAR officials were working round the clock on Monday to replace the faulty transformer and power was up and running again at the high school by 4 a.m. Tuesday morning, but school officials had already made the call to close for the day.
Winchester Fire Department firefighters watched over the Stoneham Fire Department while when the second alarm was struck and both Wakefield Fire and Melrose Fire officials reported to the high school for mutual aid.
The fire was extinguished quickly and the area was vented, and Stoneham Fire officials tested the air quality levels and found that there were no PCB's in the air - a possibility whenever a transformer fire is in play.
"Whenever you hear fire at the high school the guys at the station get very concerned and get right up there, but this was something that was under control quickly," said Stoneham Fire Chief Joe Rolli. "Seeing a transformer blow out is something we see quite a bit, but I actually haven't seen one of these actually catch fire like this one did. One thing that really worked in the school's favor was that there weren't any couches or boxes or other flammable materials in the room where the transformer is stored.
"If that were case it could have been worse, but the room was completely clean and empty," added Rolli.
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