Hinsdale Middle School to be closed Friday

Hinsdale Middle School will be closed Friday as Community Consolidated School District 181 cleans up water damage and resolves a possible mold situation stemming from two incidents involving burst pipes.

Bridget McGuiggan, director of communications for the school district, said the district is taking advantage of the longer weekend, due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, to make sure the school is safe to open on Tuesday.

By Friday, the results of mold testing should be known, while cleanup should be complete by the time school opens.

SERVPRO®, a firm that specializes in water damage restoration, will be testing the walls for wetness and removing drywall in wet areas, McGuiggan said.

At 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 4, a pipe burst in a storage room off the school's gym on the third floor.

After consulting with the fire department and buildings and grounds personnel, it was determined that water damage had traveled from the third floor to the two floors below.

At that point, an emergency restoration company also assisted in the cleanup and assessment of the damage.

But on Wednesday, Jan. 8, water pipes feeding the science rooms also burst, causing further damage.

On the weekend of Jan. 10, buildings and grounds crews were stationed at the school to monitor the damage and try to prevent further damage, as well as deal with roof leaks that were also discovered.

The air quality was also tested, with results compared to a test conducted during a period from Nov. 26 through Dec. 23.

The tests were found to be within acceptable guidelines, McGuiggan said.

Testing was also conducted for mold. Those test results, however, won't come in until Friday.

“Knowing that, our superintendent wanted to err on the side of caution,” she said.