There were several fire alarms and water flooding the halls on Tuesday, April 9. A faulty sprinkler head caused the unexpected event in science room S111.

            Suzanne Santiago, physical science teacher, did a “fire lab” where she squirted alcohol on the table and lit it on fire to explain the flame’s properties, said principal Kim Kolze. Santiago had performed the lab the previous day and was doing it a third time on April 9 during her third period class.         

“The flame burned out and the next thing she heard was rumbling in the ceiling,” Kolze said. “She called the department chair to come and check it out and when he, [Science department chair Brian Agustin], came the water started to go off from a sprinkler head. At the same time the fire alarm went off. She asked the kids to head to the back of the room and they eventually went outside to the parking lot behind the school.”

            Only one sprinkler head went off in the front of the room, so the Fire Department investigated. They found out there was a crack in the filament, which cause the sprinkler to accidentally go off. The lab did not cause enough heat to set off the sprinkler head, according to the Fire Department and Kolze.

            When the students came back in the school, they met in a science classroom at the end of the hall because their classroom was flooded. Those who sat in the front of the classroom closer to the lab were wetter than others, Kolze said. The students were offered t-shirts and sweatpants and were able to call their parents for extra clothes. All the backpacks were removed from the room and were placed in the small auditorium and main office for students to pick up.

            “When we checked in on them, we were happy to hear no personal electronics were ruined,” Kolze said. “The screen, projector, and Elmo were damaged and will be replaced though. There were only seven textbooks and two personal clothing items asked to be replaced.”

            The room, on the other hand, was flooded because it took 8 to 10 minutes for the water to fully shut off, Kolze said. Other classes in S111 were directed to other rooms for the rest of the week and the room was repaired that weekend.

            “Our maintenance and custodians did a great job mopping up the water and helping getting the room back to normal,” Kolze said. “That weekend people also came in to redo the insulation and drywall. Overall I was just happy it was not a real fire and everyone was alright.”