Students entered school ready to learn on Wednesday morning after Thanksgiving break, a break extended further because of a snow day. Instead of breakfast, they were greeted with a falling acoustic ceiling panel that is hanging by 1 of its 3 chains. This of course caused a second look by students and staff who walked by, wondering how the panel fell, and how this issue could be prevented in the future.
The ceiling panel was located by the bathrooms in the lunchroom. It was in a row in front of two others. The momentum in the panel caused the panel to swing fast and harshly, even rotating at times. It wasn’t just still on its axis, the panel (although very light) still put pressure on its final and weakened chain. It has not fallen yet. Hopefully, the precarious position will be resolved before it drops.
There are many reasons why the panel could have broken from its chains, but nothing is confirmed at this point. One reason may be because of the temperature change. Metal contracts and becomes more brittle in cold temperature changes, which can crack or break especially under pressure (in this case the panel). Other reasons could be poor structure or degradation over time, however, these are unlikely because the building is only around 14 years old and the other panels seem to still be intact.
In the students’ perspective, the issue was a shock, instead of going into the lunchroom undisturbed like regular, they were met with a ceiling panel hanging on by its actual last thread (or in this case, chain).
“My first thought was ‘wow someone is going to get hit by that,’” Lauren Fereday (9) said.
According to administration, however, the panels are as light as foam, so the situation does not represent a safety hazard.
The admin stresses the fact that they will handle the issue safely and quickly so students’ education will remain undisturbed because of the problem. A work ticket has been submitted to get it fixed.
“There will be a maintenance person who will come out and help soon,” assistant principal Mr. Schumacher said. “We’ll find out how it happened, fix it, and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
