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Crews put out fire at school
Welder ignites minor blaze at W. Reserve
BERLIN CENTER
School officials in the Western Reserve district are thankful that a fire at the construction site of the new K-12 building did not cause serious damage.
Black smoke was seen rising from the school at 13850 Akron-Canfield Road about 11 a.m. Wednesday. Fire crews from Berlin and Ellsworth townships and the Cardinal Joint Fire District responded and extinguished the blaze in about 15 minutes, said schools Superintendent Charles W. Swindler.
A welder was working under a spot in the roof where two 10-foot-tall pallets of insulation were stacked, and a stray spark ignited the pallets, he said.
“The insulation created black smoke, making it look worse than it was. Those things happen,” said Michael Fagan of Olsavsky Jaminet Architects of Youngstown, which is overseeing the construction.
“We are not aware of any structural damage,” Swindler said, adding that construction workers were set back only half a day in their work.
Construction on the $24 million Western Reserve K-12 building began in May and is expected to be completed by November 2011.
The new building will house about 800 students from Berlin and Ellsworth townships and sits in front of the current Western Reserve High School on U.S. Route 224 in Berlin Township.
Students already were scheduled to have today, Wednesday and Friday off from school for the Thanksgiving holiday.