Prank believed responsible for fire damage at Edison school

• A fire at Washington School damaged a boy’s bathroom
• The fire apparently occurred when paper products, including toilet paper rolls, were ignited
• About 120 students, in grades 1-4, were evacuated from the building

EDISON – About 120 students enrolled in a summer literacy program were evacuated from Washington Elementary School Friday morning after a fire was reported in the boy’s bathroom.

“It just appears initially that it was some kids that put some toilet paper on fire and it just got the boy’s bathroom a little bit,” Superintendent of Schools Richard O’Malley said. “It seems like a child’s unfortunate prank. We’re going to go in and assess the damage, but it’s not major.”

Fire Chief Brian Latham said the fire resulted in smoke and water damage in the bathroom and part of the hallway of the school located at 153 Winthrop Road. Part of the drop ceiling also was damaged, he said.

“It will take a few days to get it back in order. It’s no loss like the other school,” said Latham referring to the March 22, 2014 six-alarm fire that destroyed James Monroe Elementary School, also in Edison. “It’s considered moderate to minor damage.”

Edison firefighters quickly extinguished the 9:30 a.m. bathroom fire near the back of the building. Preliminary reported indicate the fire occurred with paper products, including toilet paper rolls, were allegedly ignited, police said.

The school’s smoke detectors activated fire alarms throughout the building and the children in grades 1 to 4 were evacuated.

Latham said the Washington School fire is under investigation by township police and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office. The cause remains under investigation and criminal charges are pending the outcome, police said.

Children head to high school

O’Malley said the students, who live throughout the district, were safe. The students were relocated to nearby Edison High School. Although a sign was posted on the lawn of the Washington School directing parents to the high school to pick up their children, many instead came to the elementary school where they learned about the fire.

He said the program was housed at Washington School because it has air conditioning.

Starting Monday, the program, which runs from 9 a.m to 12 p.m. will be moved to Lindeneau Elementary School, 50 Blossom St., Edison program, according to the district website.

Parents are asked to bring their child to the front entrance where they will be directed to their assigned classroom. Student belongings left at Washington School will be transported to Lindeneau Elementary School and will be sent home with students on Monday, according to the website.

The extended school year program housed in the front of Washington Elementary School will not be relocated but remain at the school, according to the district website.

Karen Mercuri, a Washington School kindergarten and special education kindergarten teacher who survived a fire that destroyed her home two years ago, said she could smell the smoke when she opened her classroom door.

“The smell was really, really bad. Everybody just got out of the building,” said Mercuri who is teaching a summer literature program. “Everybody did their job. We had a fire drill last Friday so we had practiced where to go if ever there was a real fire.”

Fire Capt. Andy Toth, the OEM coordinator, said the kids were put in the shade and given water before being moved to the high school. Toth said he deputized some of the children as his fire department liaisons to make the experience more interactive.

2 school fires in 2 years

The Washington School fire comes less than two years after the James Monroe School was destroyed by fire. The school, built in the 1960s, did not have a sprinkler system, because they were not required. Only the newer additions at the district high schools have sprinklers.

Jerome Higgins of East Brunswick, the James Monroe School facilities manager, was checking on the school that day when, according to a police investigation, he allegedly tossed an unfinished cigarette in the custodian's office, where it apparently caught fire and the flames spread through the school. Higgins was fined $200 last fall for smoking at the school.

The school district's insurance company has filed suit against Higgins, who also has been the subject of a restitution hearing in Municipal Court that has not been resolved.

James Monroe students were housed at Middlesex County College in Edison for 3 1/2 months before relocating last fall to the former St. Cecelia’s School in Iselin section of Woodbridge.

The district notified parents earlier this week about time lapse of photos showing the construction process at the James Monroe School on Sharp Road. The school is scheduled to open September 2016.

“You see everything going on so far, up to date. It takes basically a picture the same time every day. We want to put a video together of the whole thing over the course of the year,” he said. “But you can see since the day we started, all the progress.”

O’Malley said he’s pleased with the work.

“The construction company has done a fabulous job and they are right on target,” said O’Malley adding from the video residents can see the foundations are in. “We’re moving right along.”

The new school will have fire sprinklers, a gymnasium, a cafeteria, a media center, handicapped-accessible facilities and nine additional classrooms for the nearly 500 students. The new school is expected to be 67,775 square feet; with a two-level portion of the building to fit the larger school on the original footprint.

The school is expected to cost about $28 million to rebuild. The district’s insurance company, New Jersey School Insurance Group, has provided about $9.5 million. The district has filed suit against the insurance company for not funding the full cost. The suit is ongoing, O’Malley said.

Township resident approved an $18.6 million bond in March to help finance the new school. The bond will cost the owner of a home assessed at the township average about $21 a year for 30 years. Approval of the bond also qualified the district for about $4 million in state debt aid.

Any additional money the district receives from the insurance company as a result of the lawsuit would be used to pay the bond debt, school officials have said If students are in a new building at the start of the 2016-17 school year, the district will avoid paying nearly $2 million in penalties to the Diocese of Metuchen after its current two-year lease expires.

Noise, dust and traffic

Earlier this month O’Malley sent a letter to residents living in the James Monroe School neighborhood alerting them that the construction work would bring noise, traffic and dust to the quiet residential area.

“It’s a neighborhood. We want to respect them,” O’Malley said. “I know they have always been supportive so we want to continue that because there will be steel and all those things moving very quickly over the summer. We want them to be aware.”

He said the bulk of the loud noise is occurring now with site equipment and concrete trucks. Between late July and early August there will be more concrete for the second floor and a loud pump truck may be used.

In the letter he said footings have begun and concrete trucks are expected to be in the neighborhood during the afternoon hours. Once the floor slab is ready in late July, more construction noise should be expected in the early morning.

He said steel and wall panel deliveries will begin in July. Trucks are not scheduled to arrive before 7 a.m.

“Most other major deliveries will be between late July to October. Again, we have advised all vendors that this is a residential neighborhood and we expect to receive the deliveries at a reasonable time during the day,” O’Malley said in the notice.

Staff Writer Suzanne Russell: 732-565-7335; srussell@mycentraljersey.com