CENTERBURG — An electrical fire Sunday at Centerburg Elementary School impacted the structure’s roof and caused minor water damage.
As a result, elementary students didn’t have school Monday and were out Tuesday, too.
Central Ohio Joint Fire District, along with several other local fire and emergency service agencies were dispatched to the elementary school around 3:50 p.m. The fire took around five minutes to extinguish, but the fire departments still had another task at hand, COJFD Chief Mark McCann said on Monday.
Broken electrical wiring from the solar panels on the roof is the suspected cause of the blaze, McCann said.
“It appears to have shorted out on the roof,” McCann said. “And that started a small fire, which was recognized by a passer-by walking by the school.”
McCann detailed how the department took out the fire: “Like at a house, we shut all the power off at a house,” he said. “You do the same thing with the school. You shut off as much power as you can. Well, the problem with solar panels is that they’re always on as long as the sun is out, they’re generating electricity. There’s no quote ‘on and off switch.’ So this is a very unique fire.
“What we ended up cutting all the wires in half so you could at least stop the energy to the panel that was on fire. Even though the panel itself is still generating electricity, it’s not going anywhere.”
Before students go back into the building, the state will have to certify all the electrical work in the building, McCann said.
Along with roof damage, two classrooms suffered minor water damage.
Tuesday will include an inspection to determine if the building will be able to open for the last few days of school, the Centerburg Local Schools Facebook page posted.
“After the inspection, another update will be sent out (Tuesday). Thank you for your patience while we ensure the safety of students returning to the building.”
Centerburg supt. Ryan Gallwitz was at the class of 2023’s graduation when he heard the news of the elementary roof being on fire. Gallwitz left graduation and then went to the elementary where several fire departments were on the scene.
The district doesn’t own the solar panels, Gallwitz said, instead they have an agreement with the solar panel company Solar Planet who owns the panels. The district buys the power from them, he said.
Solar Planet’s insurance will be paying for all the damages too, Gallwitz said.
