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BLOOMINGDALE -- Students and staff members at the Jefferson County Joint Vocational School faced some anxious moments Monday morning after an incident left a subcontractor who was working in the building injured and closed the school for most of the day.
According to Robert Gaffney, chief of the Belvedere Volunteer Fire Department, reports about a fire at the school were received about 10:11 a.m. Monday. He said the fire had been extinguished before crews arrived at the scene.
Something happened while a contractor was working in the school’s electrical room, Gaffney reported, and the man suffered facial burns. The man was able to walk to the school’s office and report the incident, he said.
“There were no students involved,” Gaffney explained. “It did not happen in the electrical trades class, and the students were never in any danger.”
It wasn’t possible to fly the victim from the school site to a Pittsburgh hospital because of weather conditions, Gaffney added, and an ambulance from the Unionport Volunteer Fire Department transported him to a local hospital for treatment.
Panels in the room fed power to all parts of the school, Gaffney explained.
Crews from AEP and T.S. Electric helped to stabilize the electrical service, he said.
Power was restored to the school late Monday afternoon and classes are expected to resume Tuesday, JVS Superintendent Ted Gorman said.
“There wasn’t any danger,” Gorman said. “I never thought we would truly have to use our fire evacuation plan, but we did, and it was more from smoke than anything else.”
Gorman added that was a positive takeaway from the incident.
“Our students responded calmly, followed directions and handled the situation exactly as they have been trained to,” he said in a statement. “We are very proud of the way they conducted themselves.
“I also want to thank our partner schools for responding so quickly and getting buses to the JVS so we could safely get our students out of the building and home. We truly appreciate their cooperation and support,” he added. “We also appreciate the quick response of our staff, first responders and emergency personnel. The safety of our students and staff remains our highest priority.”
Crews from Wintersville Fire and Rescue also responded to the scene.