Fire struck a Galloway Township school for the second time in less than a month.
Firefighters were called to the Arthur Rann Elementary School at about 12:15 a.m. Monday for a fire, Superintendent Stephen Santilli confirmed in a letter to the school community.
"We understand this information is concerning, and certainly wasn't what any of us anticipated sharing today, but we want to ensure you have the most current facts as quickly as possible," he wrote.
Firefighters who responded to the scene found two additional fires inside the building.
All three were extinguished quickly, Santilli said.
The school already had been closed with students relocated as a result of the fire in a classroom Jan. 26.
Both fires are under investigation, but Santilli said he could confirm that all have started in heating, ventilation and air conditioning units that were installed this summer.
He said that the district did follow "the advice of a variety of community resources and vendors who confirmed that while the initial HVAC units fire was still under investigation, there was no reason to believe any of the other HVAC that were recently installed were a concern."
"As we know now, that is certainly not the case and of significant concern to the district," he wrote.
Power has been cut to all of the new HVAC units at this time.
The fires were contained to the rooms where they started, but also led to water damage, and smoke with concerns over air quality, as in the earlier fire.
Work by AllRisk — the vendor tending to the original fire's damage — is likely lost or at least set back, he said.
It is not known when they will be able to get into the school to assess the situation due to the weather.
"We are again thankful that our staff and students are safe," Santilli said.
"Finally, we owe a debt of gratitude to our local first responders," he wrote. "Despite the extreme weather conditions and the dark of night, the Galloway fire departments, Galloway Township Police, Galloway EMS, Galloway Emergency Management teams and the Galloway Township School District Facilities Manager, all responded with incredible speed. We are profoundly thankful for their dedication to the safety of our school community."
