Waves of water rolled through a Plamondon school on Thursday afternoon after apparent pipe break
Students and staff at Ecole Plamondon School found themselves having an abrupt end to the school day on Thursday as a massive flood broke out in the building, located in the small community about 200 kilometres north of Edmonton. Water rushed through school hallways – in some places – pushing waves of water, papers, books and chairs through the hallways as high as two feet.
Nicole Garner, the communications and Public Relations Manager for Northern Lights Public Schools, confirmed that there was a significant amount of flooding throughout the school.
Room filled, water rushes
Lori Beniuk, who was at Ecole Plamondon on Thursday with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, stated that she believes a pipe burst in the art room around 3:05 p.m. Beniuk, who was able to provide some video and photo footage of the flooding, added that nobody was inside, and that the door was locked. Water inside the closed room rose to a depth of more than two feet as water rushed in.
Fortunately, Garner continued, the flooding took place near the end of the school day. Staff quickly had all students go outside after which they were dismissed at the regular time.
Utility crews arrived onsite not long after the incident occurred to drain the building and stop the flow.
Students had Friday off as repairs and assessments of the damage began, with division officials saying Friday morning there is no standing water at the school as repairs take place.
“School was cancelled today while repairs are underway, and our facilities team works on assessing damage and cleaning up,” Garner told Lakeland This Week on Friday.
As to how long cleanup will take, the extent of the damage or how much it will cost to fix, Garner says she doesn’t have an estimate yet, but will provide more information when it becomes available.
Some witnesses have commented that municipal crews were in the area at the time, working on a construction project. Lac La Biche County officials have been contacted for confirmation. Those details will be updated when they are available.
Along with the damage and disruption to the school, the Plamondon public library – which shares space inside the school - has also reportedly been affected by the incident.
NLPS will provide an update over the weekend to inform parents about the status of classes going into the next week.
