SULLIVAN — After confirming on July 26 that the water source that was originally planned to be used for the new Charles M. Sumner Learning Campus sprinkler system did not have an adequate water supply or pressure, officials continue to discuss next steps as the start of the school year fast approaches.

Regional School Unit 24 Superintendent Michael Eastman recently met with representatives of the Office of the State Fire Marshal to discuss further safety measures at the new Sumner campus, and to see what solutions could be implemented to be able to use the new building as soon as possible.

“The state fire marshal’s representatives told us today that they believe the new school is safer for our students, faculty and staff than the current school, even with the water flow issue that has recently become known to us,” Eastman said. “This is because the water flow rate is not unique to the new school, but rather is system-wide; thus, the current school also has a low water flow rate.”

In light of that discussion, Eastman says the school may be able to open in September. He pointed to additional fire safety measures at the new school aside from the sprinkler system. They include a two-hour fire wall, noncombustible finishes, one-hour fire rated stairs, no dead-end corridors, fire sealants and fire extinguishers placed within 75 feet of any location in the building.

“The state Fire Marshal’s Office has offered some suggestions to minimize the risk of fire, including a delay in welding and woodworking classes, additional fire safety training for teachers and other staff, and avoidance of mass gatherings in the school until the permanent solution is in place,” Eastman said. “We will continue to work with all of those who can help us problem solve, with a goal toward opening the new school in September.”

Sullivan Fire Chief Michael Pinkham has a differing opinion on whether the safety measures currently in place at the new school are adequate. Pinkham does not think that a temporary solution should be implemented until a new cistern system is complete for the sprinkler system.

“I’ve made myself clear that I’m not signing off on a temporary solution,” Pinkham said. “Permanent solution is the only option. This is to protect the community and the occupants of the building.”

Pinkham has the backing of fire chiefs from other towns that send students to Sumner High School.

“After many discussions with Schoodic area fire chiefs, we concur with the Sullivan fire chief that the Life Safety/Occupancy Certification should not be signed off until all life safety deficiencies are adequately met as set forth by National Fire Protection Agency,” said a letter signed by the fire chiefs of Winter Harbor, Franklin, Gouldsboro, Sorrento, Hancock and Steuben.

Pinkham disagreed that the new building was safer than the existing Sumner Memorial High School even without the sprinkler system. He said the layout of the existing school makes it easier to escape, and every firefighter in the Schoodic District knows the layout of the building, since most of them went to school there.

“The bulk of the firefighters who would respond to the scene graduated from there,” said Pinkham of the current school building. “It’s a single-story building, every single room has a window to the outside.”

RSU 24 officials met with representatives of the Sullivan Fire Department, Nickerson and O’Day contractors and the Long Pond Water District July 27.

The purpose of the meeting was to figure out an alternative water source that would be able to provide adequate supply and pressure to ensure that in the event of a fire, the sprinkler system in the new building would not fail. The original plan was to rely on the Long Pond Water District.

The proposed solution is to build an underground cistern system to hold the water for the sprinkler system.

The Long Pond Water District is a small facility, with a small client base, and does not have the capabilities to provide the adequate volume and pressure needed for a fire suppression system. Crosby Noyes, chairman of the water district’s board, said the reason for the confusion that led architects to initially believe the water district was able to supply the necessary volume and pressure was because of a misreading of the initial testing that was done before construction began on the new school.

“They had higher pressures than they would actually have normally; they were reading pressures that were siphoning out of our clear well,” Noyes said. “We cannot use our clear well for fire suppression.”

“The issue at the high school is that when they did the flow test, they didn’t realize that the flow was coming from a clear well,” Noyes said. “If you suddenly have a draw that’s more than what we can produce it starts to take water siphoning out of our clear well. It puts a negative pressure on our line coming down the Punkinville Road.”

Karl Ward, president and CEO of Nickerson and O’Day, said he has long advocated for installing a cistern at the site.

“We dug some test bits this morning,” Ward said on July 28.

A location for the cistern has already been looked at, and Ward and his crew are awaiting the equipment.

“In the woods between the northwest corner of the building and Punkinville Road,” Ward said.

Nickerson and O’Day’s crew is capable of installing this type of system, but with short notice and the start of the school year fast approaching, waiting for supplies to arrive will be the biggest hurdle to overcome.

The school needs to have a 30,000- to 35,000-gallon water cistern, a clear well with pump house and a new fire pump, Ward said. The underground system will be precast concrete.

The project is projected to take several months due to the supply chain issue. Fire pumps are especially difficult to get quickly.

“We have to size the pump, start searching for a supplier,” Ward said. “It’s just a matter of who can get us into the queue the quickest.”

While RSU 24 looks to find an interim solution for housing students until the cisterns and pumps have been installed, local fire authorities say they are opposed to opening the new school until a permanent fire-suppression system is in place.

“We can’t go in knowing that we have a problem and say it’s good enough,” Pinkham said. “I will not sign off on anything less than a permanent solution.”

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Request your password here. Or contact our help desk at (207) 667-2576 during normal business hours or send us an email.

Advertise your business here. Call Kelley Wescott at (207) 667-2576 or send an email .