Chief: Worker 'extremely fortunate' to excape injury: Some damage, temporary displacement caused after 'flash fire' at Phillips building

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July 3, 2008

By Brian Messenger

A "flash fire" broke out last week inside a Phillips Academy residence hall, triggering two overhead sprinklers that caused significant water damage to portions of the building, according to Andover fire Chief Michael Mansfield.

No injuries were reported in relation to the June 26 incident, which occurred before 3 p.m. on the second floor of the Alfred E. Stearns House West, while a worker was conducting asbestos remediation.

Mansfield said a worker was removing asbestos floor tiles from the hallway of the building, using a buffer and a tile adhesive remover in an enclosed area.

Mansfield said it's likely that a spark was created either from an electrical short or friction from the floor buffer, and this spark may have ignited vapors from the tile-adhesive remover.

Mansfield said the asbestos remediation worker is lucky to have escaped the incident without injury.

"Typically the type of clothing he had on, the Tyvek suit, will actually light like shrink wrap when exposed to a flame," Mansfield said. "He's extremely fortunate."

Mansfield said the worker refused further medical treatment after being checked out by Andover emergency medical workers.

The residence hall normally houses 33 students during the school year. No students were on campus at the time of the incident, according to Sally Holm, Phillips Academy spokeswoman.

The two families of faculty members who live in Stearns House West were temporarily relocated on campus until the building was approved for habitation by the town's building and health divisions this week, Holm said.

According to an incident report filed by Phillips Academy's Office of Physical Plant, Holm said no fire actually broke out, though a spark from a floor buffer set off the building's sprinkler system, causing "extensive water contamination of the electrical circuits." A minor leak was reported in a faculty apartment, with repairs expected to be completed this week.

Holm said the floor buffer was being used by an employee of the North Reading-based Dec-Tam Corp.

"Somewhere along the line, there was a spark or a short," Mansfield said. "It got hot enough for a long enough duration to pop off those two (sprinklers)."

Mansfield said the sprinklers are triggered by a temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit. The sprinklers are designed to disperse between 32 to 35 gallons of water per minute, he said.

A total of 12 firefighters responded to a reported building fire at 6 Chapel Ave. at 2:44 p.m., along with two engines, a ladder truck and ambulance from both Central and West stations, Mansfield said.

Town electrical inspector Paul Kennedy also responded to the scene.

Kennedy said he was told by eyewitnesses that the chord of the floor buffer was hit, potentially causing the spark. Kennedy said he was unable to inspect the buffer immediately after the incident.

Asbestos is nonflammable and has often been used for fire-proofing.

Holm said Stearns House West was built in 1960s and extensively remodeled in 2004.

The building was relatively empty due to remodeling, Holm said.