AMESBURY — Amesbury Innovation High School students are once again returning to the middle school for their studies after firefighters found “a significant life safety hazard amount” of carbon monoxide in the school’s boiler room Monday.
Amesbury Fire Chief Rob Serino said the department responded to 71 Friend St. at approximately 8:30 a.m. after call from AIHS principal Evan Melanson.
“We did get a call from the principal of the Innovation High School stating that the panel was in supervisory trouble, and we responded over given that it’s a school with a full alarm response,” he said.
Melanson preemptively evacuated students and staff before department’s arrival, Amesbury Public Schools Superintendent Elizabeth McAndrews said.
Once the fire department arrived at the school, firefighters discovered that there was carbon monoxide present in the building.
“The first arriving companies found elevated levels of carbon monoxide in the building, and then a significant life safety hazard amount of carbon monoxide in the boiler room,” Serino said.
However, Serino said despite elevated carbon monoxide levels, no harm came to students or staff.
“At no point in time were staff or students in any sort of hazardous conditions based on where they were in the building. We did evacuate them for safety purposes, so that way, if it did spread, there weren’t any issues,” he said.
Serino said when the fire department left the scene at approximately 9:30 a.m., there were zero levels of carbon monoxide left.
However, students did not return to class following the evacuation, McAndrews said.
“They went into an adjacent building, the basement of the church, which is next door. And, many of them opted to contact families and get dismissed,” she said.
McAndrews said students will not return to the building for at least the rest of the week.
“We are unsure of how long they will be temporarily relocated. But, they will be headed to the middle school for tomorrow and the remainder of this week,” she said, Monday.
This incident is not the first time this school year that AIHS staff and students have been forced to relocate due to a building issue.
In late October, when responding to a reported gas leak at the school, firefighters found multiple fire code violations in the school’s basement and a water leak from a steam radiator in a classroom.
Asbestos and asbestos-containing materials were also discovered on the building’s steam boiler and associated piping, according to a Dec. 1 letter from Director of Inspectional Services Jim Wilson, Health Inspector Deb Ketchen and Collin Schaefer, regional health inspector.
As a result of the building’s issues, AIHS students and staff temporarily moved to a wing of the Amesbury Middle School.
In January, students and staff were able to return after positive reports from city officials and an asbestos company.
Serino said while AIHS did have the aforementioned problem with its boiler this fall, this incident is separate.
“There were issues with the boiler associated, but a completely different issue altogether. That one was from initially a burst pipe and a water leak that created some significant havoc throughout the building. This one is a product of the carbon monoxide, which could be a boiler issue, it could be a vent issue. There’s a lot of things that it could be, and they’re looking to determine what that is now,” he said.