Faulty Detector Causes

High School Evacuations

By Susan Coney

Newtown High School was evacuated twice in the past week due to a malfunctioning smoke detector in one of the science labs, according to Fire Marshal William Halstead.

On Friday, September 9, just prior to dismissal the fire alarm sounded and everyone had to exit the building. A reported odor of gas was caused by a safety feature that shuts off all of the gas valves.

The school was evacuated for a second time on Monday, due to the same faulty detector. Mr Halstead reported that on both days the students were correctly performing routine science experiments using the Bunsen burners in the lab when the problem with the detector occurred. Mr Halstead said that as a result of the false alarms a new detector was placed in a new location in the lab on Monday evening. He said that it is believed that the combination of the hot weather and the rise in temperature due to all the Bunsen burners being used caused the overly sensitive detector to go off.

Mr Halstead along with Buildings and Grounds Supervisor Dominick Posca went to the building on Tuesday to watch identical experiments being performed under the exact same conditions using a new detector. “We had all the same conditions and the alarm didn’t go off, so we feel confident that was the problem. It was a detector that was starting to give out and has been replaced,” the fire marshal said.

Principal Arlene Gottesman told The Bee that there was never any danger. “The sensors are very sensitive. It was a combination of a number of science experiments being done at the same time. These very same experiments have all been done before and the students were performing them correctly. Thank goodness it was nothing. The building was successfully evacuated and I commend the students and staff for doing such a wonderful job. The only glitch was the bus schedule on Friday and that was unavoidable,” Ms Gottesman said.

Sandy Hook responded to the call, with Hook & Ladder acting as back up.