Desk Jockey
Member
Well not exactly headlines but they did mention us.
I came in this morning and could see trucks had been shuffled around. As I opened up the garage I noticed the racks were empty of dryers, as opened up the double doors near the equipment store room those racks were also empty. :shock:
I figured they must have had a big water loss during the night. They some pictures and video on line. As the crews came in a couple of them said they were there all night but most only until 1:00 AM.
You just never know in this business! somewhat amus
I came in this morning and could see trucks had been shuffled around. As I opened up the garage I noticed the racks were empty of dryers, as opened up the double doors near the equipment store room those racks were also empty. :shock:
I figured they must have had a big water loss during the night. They some pictures and video on line. As the crews came in a couple of them said they were there all night but most only until 1:00 AM.
You just never know in this business! somewhat amus
Topeka High fire could've been 'much worse'
Posted: August 10, 2011 - 12:42pm
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By By Phil Anderson
THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL
By nearly everyone's account, Tuesday evening's $400,000 fire at Topeka High School that sent thick, black smoke rolling high into the atmosphere could have been worse.
Much, much worse.
As it turned out, officials said Wednesday, the historic school didn't sustain any apparent structural damage as a result of the fire. Not even to the singular, 165-foot Williamson tower, from which the smoke poured out before the blaze was extinguished.
As a result, teachers, students and alumni from across the nation and around the world on Wednesday were breathing a sigh of relief that their beloved school wasn't severely damaged. Many out-of-towners heard about the fire online and by way of social media.
In spite of the fire, school officials said classes for the 2011-12 school year will begin as scheduled this coming Tuesday.
Topeka High principal Linda Wiley on Wednesday praised the "phenomenal" response of the Topeka Fire Department and Topeka police to hold damage to a minimum.
"I can't say enough about them," Wiley said of the scores of firefighters and police who rushed to save the school. "It could have been much worse."
The fire was reported at 5:11 p.m. Tuesday at the three-story school, 800 S.W. 10th, just as many downtown-area workers were on their way home.
Topeka High, which opened in 1931, is believed to be the first million-dollar high school west of the Mississippi River.
It has a Gothic design and interior features such as chandeliers, marble walls, stained-glass windows and fireplaces that today are irreplaceable.
Wiley said the school's special place in the Topeka community was evidenced by the outpouring of concern on Tuesday evening.
Traffic was snarled as motorists were rerouted away from the school. Many looked on in horror as black smoke poured out of the school's tower. Camera phone photos and videos were shot of the incident, then quickly posted online.
A person was reported to have let firefighters in through the east doors , on the S.W. Polk Street side of the building, allowing them a quicker response in attacking the fire.
Hoses were brought in through the east doors and up the stairs to the third floor by firefighters. Additional firefighters attacked the blaze from the exterior.
Joan Barker, executive secretary of the Topeka High School Historical Society, said she was in the building at the time of the fire.
Barker said she had been working in the Historical Society room on the second floor of the building Tuesday afternoon and wasn't aware the building was on fire until a Topeka police officer knocked on the door about 5:40 p.m.
"'You better get out of here because there's as fire in the building'," Barker said the officer told her. "I thought he was kidding at first."
Barker then looked out a window and saw the smoke. She said the school's smoke alarms didn't sound, something school USD 501 officials also acknowledged.
Officials said the smoke alarms may not have activated because the fire was on the outside of the building, and also because a recent lightning strike had disabled a computer board for the alarm system, which already was in the process of being repaired at the time of Tuesday's blaze.
The school's fire alarm system was to have been repaired and tested on Wednesday before the building is reopened for use.
Though damage from the fire was still being assessed on Wednesday, the extent of loss appeared confined to the exterior roof area on the third floor, just north of the school's tower.
John Nesbitt, facilities manager for USD 501, said the blaze appeared to have started in foam insulation below the newly installed roof. The burning insulation and roofing emitted a black smoke, which quickly drifted up and through the tower.
Crews had been replacing the school's' roof, but Nesbitt said no flames or hot asphalt was being used.
The fire was under control by 5:37 p.m. and was put out by 5:55 p.m.
Fire investigators from the city and state were summoned to the scene. The cause of the fire still hadn't been determined by Wednesday afternoon, but officials said the blaze didn't appear to be the result of foul play.
Minor water damage occurred to some ceiling tiles, hallways, a couple of classrooms and a bathroom on the third floor. There were no reports of major damage to books, computers or other classroom materials.
Crews from Chavez Restoration and Cleaning were clearing the historic building of a faint smoke odor and water on Wednesday. More than 300 electric fans were placed throughout the school and in its windows to ventilate the building.
Chavez crews were to treat the building with ozone later Wednesday in an attempt to remove any lingering smoke.
The school was closed to the public on Wednesday as crews did cleanup work. Not even teachers were allowed inside for their in-service meeting, gathering instead at nearby St. John African Methodist Church, 701 S.W. Topeka Blvd.
Topeka Unified School District 501 officials said they hoped to have the building ready to open again by 5 a.m. Thursday, though some cleanup will continue.
