Smoke Traced to Area Surrounding Auditorium Heating Unit

Earlier Tuesday afternoon during the middle of Clubs period, students were evacuated from the Fieldston Upper School. They remained outside in the drizzle for approximately half an hour, until 4:00 PM, as Fieldston Facilities members and the FDNY searched for and contained the source of the alarm. Students standing outside heard reports coming through security radios of smoke (but no visible flames) on or near the quad. As fire trucks arrived, assistant principal Bob Cairo told students waiting on the sidewalk that there was a “smoke situation” in the 800s building and they should stay put as more information was gathered.

In total, two FDNY ladder trucks, two standard fire engines, and a fire marshal responded. In the 800s building where the incident occurred, there was a noticeable smell of smoke in the air.

The source of the smoke and subsequent alarm was traced to the electrical closet behind a heating unit  (and possibly components of the unit) recessed into the staircase by the Dance Theater Lab, leading up to the Alex Cohen Theater. In an interview after students re-entered the building, director of security Bob Sena said “We isolated where the alarm was coming from and the fire department investigated it and after they looked at it they thought it was safe to go into the building.”

Director of facilities Evin Lederman reported that the source of the alarm was initially hard to find, because there was not that much visible smoke. A smoke detector inside the electrical closet set off the school-wide alarm. Discussing the containment of the problem, Lederman said “It was an electrical short that we were able to turn the power off to.” Several minutes prior to the fire alarm, there was a power shortage in the Upper School, causing lights to momentarily flicker on and off. Commenting on the relevance of this power shortage to the smoke and fire alarm, Lederman said “I don’t know if that was related – maybe. Its likely to think so, but there is no way to know.”

There will be an ongoing investigation to gather more information about the exact causes. It is still unclear if the exact cause of the smoke was the heater or other elements and wiring in the electrical closet. When asked about that process, Sena said “we’re going to look into it a little bit to find out exactly what caused it” and noted that both the FDNY and an electrical contractor will be a part of the investigation.

Check our Twitter account @FieldstonNews and Facebook.com/Fieldstonnews to see the live posts made during the fire alarm and evacuation.