Port Clinton High evacuated after roofers create hot spots

9/19/2008

PORT CLINTON Port Clinton High School was evacuated about noon yesterday after a teacher noticed smoke in a hallway, Superintendent Pat Adkins said.

The smoke was caused by hot spots, on the school s roof, which were created by roofers making repairs, he said.

The roofers were using some saws to remove the gutters from the roof and, in doing so, the saws they used created some heat and heated up the rubber membrane on the roof as well as some of the wood on that roof, he said.

The estimated 600 students watched for about 2 hours as firefighters doused the hot spots. Students re-entered the building about 2:40 p.m. to retrieve their belongings before the school day ended at 3 p.m.

Fire Chief Kent Johnson said there was no damage estimate. We ll leave that up to the insurance company.

We did remove quite a bit of roofing to get to [the hot spots]. The [hole] was probably 3 feet by 20 feet, the chief said.