Pieter B. Coeymans Elementary will be closed tomorrow, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, so that we may continue the cleanup from today. As you know, the fire alarm and sprinkler systems were activated, causing the building to evacuated and students and staff to be sent home early. This was caused by a fire that occurred in an upstairs bathroom that was, thankfully, immediately extinguished by our fire suppression systems. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Our custodial staff worked this afternoon to clean up the water that was on the floors and walls of the first and second floors near where this incident occurred. There was some water damage on the walls and ceiling tiles, and some fire damage in the bathroom itself. The larger issue is that smoke spread from the area of the fire to nearby classrooms and hallway. A professional fire remediation team has been on site all afternoon attending to the cleanup and will need to continue their work into tomorrow in order to ensure a clean and safe learning environment for everyone. We expect PBC to reopen on Thursday and will notify families by 5 pm on Wednesday if those plans change.
Unfortunately, student belongings will need to remain in classrooms until the school reopens on Thursday.