Smoke From Elevator Motor Clears Bethalto, Illinois School

Jan. 03--BETHALTO -- Trimpe Middle School students were evacuated Thursday after a malfunctioning elevator shaft heater caught fire and released smoke through much of the building.

Principal Kim Wilks smelled an odor and made the decision to call 911 and evacuate the building around 12:30 p.m. Trimpe is located in the 900 block of Second Street.

"You do what you need to do to keep the kids safe," Wilks said. "My teachers reacted calmly and efficiently, and we got the kids out very quickly."

Officials said there was little smoke initially, but the scare quickly prompted school officials to send approximately 600 children to neighboring Bethalto East Elementary school's gym.

Before leaving the school, Wilks sent a "SchoolReach" automated call to parents to let them know their children were safe and had been moved to the adjoining school. The call outlined the procedures set in place for dismissal.

The smoke picked up in intensity by the time firefighters arrived. The first floor of Trimpe was covered with heavy smoke and about half the second floor had smoke by the time evacuation was completed, Bethalto Fire Chief Rich Mersinger said.

"The first thing we did was to kill the power to shut the heat off to calm it down," he explained.

The heater is located at the base of the elevator shaft and keeps the area dry by removing moisture, he said. The unit malfunctioned and caught fire, but the fire was contained entirely within the elevator shaft.

Firefighters used dry chemicals to extinguish the blaze inside of 30 minutes, he said.

Firefighters then used fans to blow the smoke and smell out of the building.

School officials were hoping school would resume session today, Friday.

By early afternoon Thursday, more than 100 parents had arrived at East, forming a line that went out the door and wrapped around the front of the building, as part of the pickup procedure.

Staff members were positioned outside to try to help move the line along faster by calling the kids out in advance of parents presenting the proper identification. Photo identification was required of parents to have their children released into their care.

"We didn't want the kids to have to wait outside in this kind of cold," Superintendent Cindy Blasa said, who was notified by Wilks shortly after she made the emergency call.

Some parents said students were not being allowed to return to Trimpe to get books or coats or other belongings left behind.

Some children leaving East with their parents could be seen carrying cafeteria trays out of East after getting their lunch there.

Many parents had received calls directly from their children asking them to pick them up.

"I was a little apprehensive when my son called, but I trusted the school to take care of the kids," said Jennifer Yinger, whose son Shawn Motzer is in the seventh grade. "Still, I wanted to come and pick him up myself."

Motzer said the evacuation was "calm for the most part."

Several nearby fire departments were dispatched under mutual aid arrangements.

In all, there were eight fire vehicles, from Bethalto, Holiday Shores, East Alton and Rosewood Heights, totaling about 50 firefighters on the scene.

"We should be OK for school tomorrow," Blasa said.

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