Superintendent: Admiral King Elementary gas leak situation improving

Lorain City Schools Superintendent Tom Tucker said the Admiral King Elementary School building has “positive signs of improvement” Oct. 6 after a gas leak investigation led to the its closure Sept. 30, and its relocation of students and staff to other buildings this week.

According to Jeff Hawks, executive director of operations for the school district, the Lorain Fire Department continues to conduct gas readings every half hour on the property at 720 Washington Ave.

Officials have yet to deter- mine the source of the odor initially detected in the school’s cafeteria and outside of the building last week, Hawks said. However, crews are receiving readings of no gas in these areas except for one “small” reading with traces in the school’s music room, which is down the hall 20 feet from the cafeteria.

Officials core drilled the area the evening of Oct. 6 and inserted a four-inch pipe that runs through the wall and up into the ceiling in an effort to eliminate the gas, he said.

“The one in the room we’re going to do tonight is the last area (that) we did receive a little bit of a reading of gas,” Hawks said Oct. 6. “... We’re allowing it to dissipate through the pipe.”

Tucker said although the school has received mostly negative gas readings, the results must remain at the zero level for a period of time before allowing students and staff to move back into the building.

“It may be 48 hours that everyone’s going to feel comfortable,” Hawks said. “We’re going to make sure that all parties — Columbia Gas, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Fire Department and ourselves — are very comfortable in allowing the students and staff to come back.”

Around 350 students and 25 staff members were relocated to Washington, Garfield and Toni Morrison elementary schools this week for safety purposes due to the ongoing investigation. Last week, officials began investigating the gas issue, which the Fire Department confirmed was a combustible gas leaking into a wall in the cafeteria.

Crews dug a three-foot trench near the school on Washington Avenue and had a perforated pipe pick up any gases that may have passed through the concentrated area to the south of the school’s delivery dock.

The natural resources department explored the possibility of shale and aged water wells near the school emerging to the surface as causes.

Tucker said he is hopeful Admiral King will reopen by next week. However, he said the district’s decision will depend on the ongoing gas tests.

“Right now, I’m hoping for a week, and then we’ll see where it goes,” he said.

Hawks and Tucker both confirmed the district plans to permanently install gas monitors in the school to ensure the air is consistently and frequently tested once the building reopens.