UPDATE: Fire Caused Evacuation of Summit Middle School

All was back to normal at Tuesday afternoon after an early morning explosion in a construction area sending two construction workers to the hospital and the evacuation of students and staff from the school.

"It never put the students in a hazardous environment," said Tim Nemmbers, Johnston Fire Captain. "They were evacuated precautionally until we could eliminate hazards."

At approximately 9:06 a.m. the was dispatched to a commercial assignment of a working fire at Summit Middle School, 9500 Windsor Parkway.

The explosion was a result of construction taking place on an addition of the east end of the building, said Nemmers.

Crews were stuffing insulation between cinder blocks and decorative bricks connecting the new addition to the current building.

The six inch void between sides collected fumes from the adhesive being used.

At the same time crew members were working on the roof with a grinder, Nemmers said.

The sparks from the grinder fell between the walls igniting the adhesive fumes causing two holes approximately two by three feet to blow out about 12 to 15 feet above the floor.

"Two workers were injured, that activated the fire alarm system," Nemmers said. "So the occupied part of the school was evacuated outside."

The construction crews removed the injured workers and began to put out the fire with fire extinguishers and garden hoses.

It took crews approximately 30 minutes to bring the incident under control.

"By 45-minutes half the personnel were able to leave the scene and it was declared under control, we were able to let the school reconvene normal classes," Nemmers said.

About an hour and half after the first call, construction crews were able to resume work.

Fifty personnel from Grimes Fire Department, Saylor Fire Department, Windsor Heights Fire Department, Polk City Fire Department, Ankeny Fire Department, Urbandale Fire, Windsor Heights Fire, Polk County Emergency Management, Polk County Sheriff's Department, Frazier Ambulance Services and Johnston Fire and Police Departments, responded to the call.

"It was well coordinated between the principal, Dr. (Jim) Casey (associate superintendent, the superintendent of maintenance (Tim Kline)," Nemmers said. "It was a good coordinated effort between the district, superintendent of the job site, police and fire."

FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICT:

Today, Tuesday, March 27, 2012 at 9:06 a.m. there was a small fire on the exterior of the new construction area at Summit Middle School. The building was evacuated and the fire was contained by the fire department. At 9:49 a.m. the building was declared clear of danger by the fire chief and students returned into the building. No smoke entered the building.

Staff and students did a great job following safety procedures.

Classes have resumed and a normal schedule will be followed for the remainder of the day.

Check back to Johnston Patch for more information.