Mon, Nov 27th, 2023 - 7:01am
March 13, 2019 - 9:28am | By News Staff
On Tuesday, March 12, 2019, there was a partial roof collapse at Centennial Elementary School shortly after 8:30 p.m. There were no injuries from the collapse and students are currently not in school due to Fargo Public Schools’ (FPS) Spring Break.
FPS was first made aware of a structural compromise of the roof on Monday, March 11, 2019. Since then, FPS staff was working with the local fire department, contractors, and structural engineers to relieve the heavy snow load and repair the sagging roof.
Once aware of the structural compromise, FPS staff shut off the sprinkler system and drained it to prevent water damage in case of a collapse. Per fire code, doing so requires a fire watch, meaning someone must be on site patrolling the area until the system is back on.
On Tuesday, March 12, 2019, the FPS employee on fire watch reported that after 8:30 p.m., the compromised section of the roof at Centennial Elementary School, east of the gym and above the conference room, had collapsed. The employee on fire watch was the only employee in the building and there were no individuals on the roof at that time. There were no injuries.
FPS will continue working with the fire department, contractors, and structural engineers to remove debris and make repairs to all damages. FPS is on Spring Break this week and has closed the building to all; except dedicated personnel who are working to repair and restore the damages from the partial roof collapse.
