Town Manager: TIS Loose Concrete Block Situation Addressed

Town Manager Steven Werbner on Tuesday said he is confident all appropriate steps have been taken to assure residents that a potentially hazardous situation at Tolland Intermediate School has been addressed. 

And taken care of. 

The scenario of last month was outlined in his monthly report to the Town Council: 

On Oct 21, the director of public safety was alerted to a hazardous condition at Tolland Intermediate School. The director and assistant director of public safety, the Tolland building official, the head of maintenance for the Board of Education, the school principal and assistant principal were called to the scene to review the condition and discuss what would be the best course of corrective action. 

It was determined that two concrete blocks became dislodged from the top of a wall and fell through a suspended ceiling tile, crashing onto the floor of a classroom. 

The blocks were non-structural and were only intended for fire protection purposes. (Werbner explained further that the concrete blocks were part of the original construction and became loose inside several of the classrooms. The blocks were acting as a firewall for a steel beam, he said.) 

Once staff had an understanding of the issue, the superintendent and the town manager were briefed. 

A structural engineer was summoned to the scene. 

At approximately 8:30 p.m. Department of Public Works and Fire Department crews were on scene to begin removing any additional loose bricks from all first-floor classrooms. Crews worked through the night to remove debris, clean classrooms and ready the school for session the next day. 

The Tolland Building Official inspected the work of town crews for compliance to the corrective action plan ordered by the structural engineer and the school was deemed safe for occupancy. 

Children were able to occupy classrooms as normal with no disruptions, the next day. 

Werbner said no one was hurt.