Shadle Park Pool Reopens After Ceiling Tiles Removed

Thu., Feb. 24, 2000

By Isamu Jordan isamuj@spokesman.com

The Shadle Park indoor pool is open again after being shut down for a week when a pigeon knocked a ceiling tile loose.

About 35 people were in the pool when the acoustical ceiling tile fell to the pool deck on Feb. 12.

No one was injured but the loose tile prompted the Park Operations Division to take action.

The pool was closed while city staff inspected the ceiling for other loose tiles.

The two-pound tiles were connected to the ceiling with four glue spots and a metal hanger.

“If a corner hits someone on the head there is potential for serious injury,” said Hal McGlathery, recreation division manager for Parks and Recreation.

The 1,200 tiles splashed to the pool in a barrage of “fwaps” as a handful of firefighters spent Friday spraying the tiles off the ceiling with firehoses.

The pool was filtered and vacuumed over the weekend and reopened on Presidents Day.

The 50-year-old acoustical tiles were in place to soften the echo noise in the pool facility.

“Once the pool is back in operation, if the acoustics are really bad we’ll know if they were working,” McGlathery said.

McGlathery said the next step is to find a solution for the acoustics without re-creating the same problem for pool operators in the future.

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