Inspection of school’s sprinkler pipes underway  

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REGION 16 — School officials will soon know the extent of an issue with sprinkler pipes rusting at Woodland Regional High School.

Between June 6 and Oct. 9, seven different sections of pipes for the sprinkler system were repaired because they were rusting and rotting, and some were leaking, according to a memo from Director of Facilities Stephen Martoni to the Region 16 Board of Education. The emergency repairs cost $18,313, the memo states.

Martoni last week told the Board of Education, which oversees schools in Beacon Falls and Prospect, that the Waterbury-based M.J. Daly has started to inspect the pipes at Woodland. Once the company is done, it will report what repairs are needed and the cost. He said the company has found a couple of areas that need to be fixed sooner rather than later.

The company will also inspect the sprinkler pipes at Long River Middle School, Martoni said, and report its findings.

The issue at Woodland was discovered when a pipe in the school’s media center started leaking in May. In late October, Superintendent of Schools Michael Yamin presented the board with a proposal from New England Fire and Security to perform the inspection at Woodland for $12,696. Board members felt the figure was too steep for a visible inspection and asked for other proposals.

Martoni last week said M.J. Daly is doing the inspections for no charge.

The school board also awarded an $8,360 contract to M.J. Daly to perform the five-year maintenance inspection, which is separate from the inspection that is underway, on the sprinkler systems in all the region’s schools. Martoni said officials received quotes from M.J. Daly and New England Fire and Security to do the five-year inspection.

M.J. Daly’s quote was the cheaper of the two. New England Fire and Security quoted a price of $12,800, Yamin said.