Electrical malfunction likely caused early morning rooftop fire
A fire occurred at Healdsburg High School on the roof of the Smith Robinson Gym on Sept. 2. Just before 3 a.m., the high school’s alarm system notified emergency dispatch and enabled the Healdsburg Fire Department and Cal Fire to quickly get on the scene and put the fire out.
The fire department informed the high school that the fire appeared to have been started as the result of an electrical malfunction. Healdsburg Fire Department Chief Steve Adams said that the source of the fire is suspected to be an exterior light on the rooftop that had wires running to it.
The two-alarm fire drew approximately 25 firefighters, and nine engines from around the county.
Adams said that the fire, which covered a 30 by 30-foot portion of the roof, was knocked down within 20 minutes to a half hour. He said that there was some water damage, but “all in all there was very little damage to the inside of the gym.”
“Had it not been for the smoke detector, it would have been a huge loss,” Adams said.
The resulting damage and electrical issues are isolated to the gym and locker room, which have been sectioned off and are being monitored by private security.
Principal Chris Vanden Heuvel said that the damage and electrical issues present no danger to students, staff or members of the community using other parts of the campus.
Smith Robinson Gym and the adjacent boys locker room will be temporarily closed until they can be adequately repaired.
“We are hoping to have a construction crew begin in the next few days and repairs completed within the week,” Vanden Heuvel said. “While our physical education and athletics program will be somewhat disrupted, our classes and campus will continue as normal.”
A fire drill was sounded at HHS at around 10:40 a.m. the same day.
“We recently trained our teachers and students on emergency preparedness and thought, given the recent earthquake and fire, it would benefit all to run through the procedures,” Vanden Heuvel said. “I’m pleased to say that the entire campus was evacuated and every student accounted for in a matter of minutes. As you can see, we hold the safety of our students paramount and are taking every precaution to ensure that our campus is prepared for any situation.”
