Nobody was injured Wednesday afternoon after a pellet stove at École secondaire Sieur-de-Coulonge (ESSC) malfunctioned, causing smoke to circulate through the school’s ventilation system and all occupants of the building to be evacuated.
Mansfield and Pontefract fire chief Patrick Bertrand said the department received a call at 3:32 p.m. and sent 18 firefighters to the scene, where they began to investigate the issue.
He said responders discovered an issue with a component of the school’s heating system, a pellet stove located in the basement. “Smoke leaked out of the stove and it got into the ventilation system, and that’s how there was smoke inside the school,” he said.
“We controlled the airflow inside the school after we made sure there was no actual fire.”
Bertrand said the school’s alarm system had already gone off when the fire department arrived, and all students and staff had already exited the building as per safety protocols.
On Thursday, Centre de services scolaire des Hauts-Bois-de-l’Outaouais communications advisor Monia Lirette sent the following statement to THE EQUITY.
“The fire alarm set off on Apr. 2 was connected to a minor technical malfunction with the biomass heater, caused by an equipment break. Security measures were already put in place, the premises were evacuated and firefighters proceeded to do a complete inspection of the building. No danger was reported.”
Bertrand said a technician from the school board arrived late Wednesday afternoon to investigate what caused the malfunction.
He said the school has an older heating system fueled by oil, so they were able to use that as a backup until the wood pellet furnace is repaired.
He said he was impressed with the school’s efficiency at evacuating the building.
“They really felt the need to evacuate the school, and they did an awesome job and made an awesome time as well. So there was no panic,” he said.
Bertrand added that once the department was able to identify that there was no danger, they accompanied students back into the school to retrieve their personal effects, then loaded and dismissed the buses.
