Vandalism At NHS Causes More Than $100,000 Damage

By Andrew Gorosko

Police are conducting a criminal investigation into an apparent prank which caused extensive interior flooding damage on three levels of the new wing at Newtown High School on Friday, July 13.

The flooding is estimated to have caused more than $100,000 in damage to the building and its contents, including seven classrooms, the new lecture hall, and hallways. An estimated 25,000 square feet of floor area was affected.

Workmen were in the expansion wing this week attempting to dry out the soggy facility with high-powered fans to prevent the accumulated moisture from causing long-lasting damage to the building. Rapidly drying soggy areas is intended to forestall mold and mildew problems.

Employees of JP Maguire Associates, a local damage restoration firm, worked to gauge the extent of the water damage and prevent it from posing long-term problems.

According to a police report, at about 7 pm on July 13, police received word from a custodian at the high school that there was a flooding problem in what is known as the “A” wing of the sprawling building on Berkshire Road in Sandy Hook.

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company firefighters went to the high school at 7:28 pm to help with the clean-up. On arriving at the scene, firefighters turned off electrical power to forestall water-related electrical problems, said Sandy Hook Fire Chief Bill Halstead.

Firefighters helped contain and remove water from the soggy building, using backpack-mounted portable water vacuums.

Police Investigation

Police youth officer Dana Schubert said Tuesday he is investigating the circumstances of the flooding, which was apparently intentional. The crime constitutes first-degree criminal mischief, which is a felony. Police patrol officer Richard Robinson conducted the initial investigation into the flooding.

Officer Schubert said he is collecting information and expects to apply for an arrest warrant in the case.

Apparently, someone turned on an emergency shower in a science classroom on the top level of the building and let the shower continue running. Such devices are intended for emergency use in the event that students are exposed to toxic substances and need to clean themselves quickly and thoroughly. Such showers do not have drains. They discharge their water flow onto the classroom floor.

When the shower was left running for an unknown period of time, the water spread out laterally and ran across floors on the top level of the building, later finding its way down to the second level where it entered classrooms and the new lecture hall. The flowing water later entered the area of the new cafeteria on the ground level.

Several unidentified teenagers reportedly were spotted loitering in the high school that afternoon and are considered suspects in the case.

Chief Halstead said school custodians discovered the flooding problem when they noticed water dripping down into the cafeteria area from ceiling-mounted lighting fixtures. The custodians went through the upper levels of the building, finding the source of the problem at the emergency shower, which was still running in the science classroom. It appears that the person who had earlier turned on the shower, had left the building, the fire chief said.

As the water drained downward through the building from the top floor, it came into contact with lighting fixtures, computers, ceilings, walls, rugs, seating and other objects, he said.

The draining water entered the new lecture hall on the second floor of the new wing, soaking rugs and seating there.

Some water also found its way down into the new school cafeteria, causing damage to a hallway leading to that facility, Chief Halstead said.

Workmen used powerful fans this week to dry out the lecture hall and a computer room, where soaked ceiling tiles had been removed to speed up the drying process.

When they were working to mop up the mess, firemen encountered one computer which was smoking as a result of water damage, Chief Halstead said. In one room, 30 new computers had become soaking wet from the water problem, he said. Two rooms that hold computers were damaged, he said.

The flowing water caused an unknown amount of damage to electrical devices, such as lights and alarms, in the building, he said.

Insurance adjusters went to the high school Monday to gauge the extent of property damage, he said.

Chief Halstead, who also is the town’s fire marshal, estimated the damage at “definitely over $100,000.”

Chief Halstead said it is unclear when the emergency shower was turned on. “There was a lot of water,” he said. Various estimates placed the volume of water discharged by the emergency shower between several hundred and several thousand gallons.

Chief Halstead said he would be seeking information from the state on why floor drains are not required beneath emergency showers in science classrooms.

 Soon after the high school’s new wing opened several years ago, the incorrect use of air exhaust equipment in a top-floor science classroom allowed cold air to enter the room and freeze water pipes, causing a pipe to break and flood sections of the new building, including the new lecture hall.

 Damage Assessment

Ronald Bienkowski, the director of business for the school system, said Tuesday, “We’re currently assessing what the total [damage] cost will be.” Mr Bienkowski said the $100,000 damage estimate is “probably a good ballpark figure to use at this time.” Within about two weeks, school officials should have a clearer picture of the extent of the water damage, he said.

He estimated that about 25,000 square feet of the building was affected by the flooding.

The water damage is covered by the school system’s insurance policy, he said.

Once school officials are confident that damaged items, such as computers, have been thoroughly dried, the computers will be turned on to learn whether they work properly, he said. If computers are thoroughly dried before being turned on, they could start up without problems, he said. 

Fortunately, school workers will have some time to correct the water-related problems before classes resume for the next school year, he said.

Mr Bienkowski said some teenagers had been spotted loitering in the school about 4:30 pm the day that the flooding problem was discovered. He estimated that the emergency shower had been running a maximum of two hours before the flooding was discovered.

Floor wax had recently been applied in the area near the running shower, so doors had been left open in that area to allow the floor wax to dry, he said.

The water damage is not expected to delay the start of 2001-02 school year, Mr Bienkowski said.