Asbestos discovered beneath flooded Fitch gym floor

AUSTINTOWN

Austintown schools Superintendent Vince Colaluca said asbestos was found under the water-damaged Fitch High School gym floor, causing the floor to be a total loss.

In June, a pipe burst in a restroom near the gymnasium, waterlogging and warping the floor.

Lewis VanHoose, school district athletic director, said the abatement process has been started, which is the first step on the long road ahead.

“Since asbestos was found, it has to be environmentally taken care of, so we have to remove the floor and all the asbestos before we start putting down a new one,” he said.

Colaluca said the asbestos originated in the tar paper put down before the gym floor was put in, more than 50 years ago, as a moisture barrier between floor and the concrete underneath.