High School Vandalism Damage Estimate Hiked To $140,000

By Andrew Gorosko

In tallying the damage caused by a recent flooding incident in the new wing at Newtown High School, school officials believe that costs to correct water-related problems may reach $140,000.

Earlier cost estimates had put the damage value closer to $100,000.

In an apparent prank, on Friday, July 13, someone who had entered the school turned on an emergency shower in a third-level science classroom and left the area, allowing the high-volume shower to continue running. The shower does not have a drain and the rapidly flowing water spread out across the floor, eventually draining down into the second level and into first level of the expansion wing. Such emergency showers are intended to quickly and thoroughly cleanse students who are exposed toxic substances in science experiments.

Police Youth Officer Dana Schubert said Wednesday that he was concluding his investigation into the incident and expected to soon submit an arrest warrant application for one person to Danbury Superior Court. Prosecutors review such warrant applications, after which they are submitted to a judge for review.

First-degree criminal mischief, a felony, is the charge that applies to vandalism with damage exceeding $1,500.

The school has damage insurance to cover water-related losses. In some criminal mischief cases, prosecutors seek to have defendants convicted of the crime make monetary restitution for property damage.

Drainage

The water from the emergency shower drained from the third level to the second level, entering the second-level lecture hall and two computer classrooms, causing extensive water damage there.

As the thousands of gallons of water drained downward through the building from the top floor, the water came into contact with classrooms, hallways, lighting fixtures, computers, ceilings, walls, rugs, seating, and other objects. The $28 million expansion wing, which was built to alleviate school crowding, opened for classes in September 1997.

After the flooding problem was discovered by high school janitors on the evening of July 13, workmen and Sandy Hook firefighters took quick steps to contain and remove the water to minimize electrical problems and damage posed by mold and mildew.

Dom Posca, the school system’s supervisor of buildings and grounds, said Wednesday that the emergency shower was probably running for about one hour before school staff members discovered it.

Several unidentified teenagers reportedly were spotted loitering in the high school late that afternoon.

Mr Posca said he was home preparing to leave on vacation when he got a call that evening that there was a water problem at the high school. On his way to the school, he called in the Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company for initial help in cleaning up the watery mess, he said.

Mr Posca estimated the damage value at between $125,000 and $140,000, when workers’ overtime costs are included.

The water problem required workmen to open up two walls in the school and replace wallboard, he said.

JP Maguire Associates, a local damage restoration firm, will continue working to rectify the water problems, Mr Posca said. The firm has used powerful fans and dehumidifiers to dry out the school.

Unfortunately, the area hardest hit by the water damage was a computer room on the second level, Mr Posca said. School workers were waiting until damaged computers were thoroughly dry to restart them to learn the full extent of the water damage.

About 80 percent of the water damage was on the school’s second level, he said. The third level and first level each received about 10 percent of the damage, he said.

Rugs which were soaked by the flooding have dried out, he said. The use of dehumidifiers expedited the drying process, he noted.

As a precaution against future instances of vandalism, Mr Posca said he plans to install sensors on the school’s emergency showers, which would sound alarms if the showers were turned on.

Mr Posca credited high school and middle school staffers and Sandy Hook firefighters for quick work in limiting the water damage.

“It was a real team effort the way the water got picked up… The guys did a super job,” he said.

Soon after the high school’s new wing opened, 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.