Another Burst Pipe at Point Boro School

Another pipe burst at Nellie Bennett School Thursday morning, requiring students' evacuation from a classroom in an incident that lasted about seven minutes.

The Point Pleasant Borough elementary school had an incident a day prior, before school began. But Thursday's incident occurred during school hours, requiring a brief evacuation of the school, said district spokesperson Jacquelyn Goss.
After the fire alarm was sounded for an evacuation, students were placed on busses so they could stay out of the cold, she said.

"The district sent in school busses for students to board in order to minimize the time they were outside (they were evacuated by the fire alarm, which is standard procedure). From start to finish, the incident lasted about seven minutes," said Goss.

Here is the text from the alert sent to parents about the incident:


Despite today’s slightly warmer weather, the extended exposure to below-freezing temperatures over the past few days continues to affect Nellie Bennett Elementary School. A short time ago, a pipe burst near the school gymnasium.  All students are safe and the pipe has already been fixed by the facilities department; but because this occurred during school hours, the police and fire departments responded to the scene, in accordance with routine safety procedures. Students were evacuated from the building, while the emergency response teams and the district facilities department assessed the situation. After fire officials inspected the building and determined it safe, the students were immediately re-admitted to the building. 

District and school administration would like to assure parents once again that their children are, as always, our top priority. We thank you for your support and understanding as we deal with the unprecedented effects of the record low temperatures affecting our area. We will keep you apprised of any necessary updates to this situation. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the school’s main office. Thank you.