MANSFIELD — Classes will resume at Malabar Intermediate School Wednesday after the building closed for a day due to “water issues.”
Mansfield City Schools Supt. Stan Jefferson and facilities director Robert Booth said contractors were at the building Tuesday to correct a problem that allowed water to enter the building’s boiler room.
According to Booth, water from snow melt came in around electrical lines that fed into the building via an underground PVC pipe conduit.
“With the snow melt, I guess it started coming in around that conduit, so we had to reroute that wire and dry up the water the best that we can,” Booth said.
A report from the Mansfield Fire Department, obtained via public records request, states the Fire Prevention Bureau responded to an anonymous complaint about the building on Monday.
The department cited one violation — an “electrical hazard due to water leaks in conduit and access box before the line enters service in the boiler room,” as well as water leaks in the Girl’s Locker room.
The report stated that district and city officials discussed a temporary fix for the boiler room until the weather allows for a permanent fix. It also stated that the power in the girls’ locker room will need to remain off until leaks are fixed around the lights.
A re-inspection is scheduled for Friday, according to the report.
Booth said the Malabar boiler room has floor drains and there was no standing water. Classes were cancelled Tuesday because the electricity had to be turned off in order to reroute the wire — meaning fire alarms weren’t active.
Booth said the district is abandoning the old electrical line and running a new one, while also working to divert the water. He said the water itself was minimal and not a concern.
“We’ll patch the hole where (the abandoned electric line) comes in the wall. The issue is not the water coming in the boiler room,” he said. “The issue was it being close to electrical.”
Malabar Intermediate is located at 205 W. Cook Road. The building was constructed in 1959 and serves approximately 780 students in third through sixth grades.
Malabar passed fire department, city codes inspection two weeks ago
Booth said safety is a top priority for the district and all its buildings are regularly inspected by the Mansfield Fire Department.
In fact, Booth said inspectors from the city’s fire and codes and buildings departments visited several Mansfield City Schools buildings two weeks ago.
Booth and Jefferson said the entities found no violations in any district buildings.
A report from the Mansfield Fire Department confirmed Malabar was inspected by city officials on Jan. 10, following an anonymous complaint.
The complaint alleged children with disabilities had been moved to the basement and not been provided a ramp, that there were buckets to catch rainwater in the hallways, that ceiling tiles were coming down from water damage and that there was an umbrella over an electrical box in the boiler room.
The report concluded that there were “no unsafe conditions to note.”
“All electrical boxes are free from obstructions and meet the requirements of the Ohio Fire Code,” the report read.
“The Building Department was not able to substantiate any of the complaints that were filed with the Mansfield Fire Prevention Bureau.”
District officials said there are no issues with the boilers at Malabar. They also said all boilers are inspected once a year in order to comply with requirements from both the state and the district’s insurance company.
The boilers passed their last inspection, violation-free, in September, according to Booth.
Nevertheless, Booth said one photo has been circulating on social media recently that allegedly showed an umbrella positioned over a boiler. Booth said the boilers in the photo haven’t been in use in Malabar for at least 10 years.
The fire department report also references a photo with an umbrella and boilers which don’t match the ones currently installed at Malabar.
“We would never send our kids into any atmosphere that’s not safe,” Booth said.
Jefferson called recent social media rumors about problems with the Malabar building “disheartening.”
He encouraged any members of the public that hear rumors or have concerns about the schools to contact his office at 419-525-6400.