MORGANTOWN – Where there’s smoke, there’s fire?
Not always, Eddie Campbell Jr. said Monday.
At least not at University High School on Monday morning – though there was plenty of smoke in a classroom for a time.
When said smoke started roiling at 6:40 a.m., it didn’t take long for maintenance workers to discover the source, the superintendent of Monongalia County’s school district reported.
A faulty HVAC unit on the rooftop was the culprit.
“Our workers knew exactly what it was,” the superintendent said.
“There was never a fire – but we called the fire department out of an abundance of caution, because that’s how we’re going to always operate.”
The superintendent credited the UHS maintenance workers for their knowledge and quick response, along with the fire crews that rolled up within minutes after the 911 call was made.
A number of teachers, staffers and students were already in the school when the smoke was discovered, Campbell said, but they quickly hustled out of the building.
Students on buses that were rolling up in the midst of all were kept on board temporarily.
By 7:15 a.m., fire crews determined the building safe for entry.
“I was impressed by the response,” Campbell said. “Everybody reacted the way they were supposed to.”
While maintenance workers were tending to the HVAC unit, firefighters were simultaneously combing the building with thermal cameras, Campbell said.
They were checking the wiring in walls in order to rule out any other incendiary source, he said.
“You want to be absolutely sure,” Campbell said. “It’s a big building.”
A big building with a big history. UHS turned 100 this past fall. It began its life in 1925 at the top of Price Street in Morgantown. Mountaineer Middle now occupies the original structure.
The morning’s events at the current UHS, Campbell said, weren’t “historic” – just typical of one of the more dreaded days of the week, he said.
“Hey,” he intoned with a chuckle. “It’s Monday.”
