Sprinkler break floods Skyway Elementary

A broken sprinkler head at Skyway Elementary School in the Coeur d’Alene School District caused water damage to four classrooms overnight and forced the school to move classes to other parts of the building, school officials said. The sprinkler head apparently broke some time after a night custodian left at 11:30 p.m. and was not discovered until accumulating water caused an alarm to go off in the early morning hours today. School maintenance staff and firefighters responded to the school about 3:30 a.m. to shut off the water and begin cleanup, said Janet Feiler, public information specialist for the school district. The water caused damage to three first-grade classrooms and one kindergarten classroom as well as an adjacent hallway. The exact cause was not given. Books, carpets and other furnishings were damaged at the school at 6621 Courcelles Parkway. Classes were moved to the gymnasium, media center, a smaller classroom and an art room. Plans for a Spring Fling event this evening were not being cancelled, Feiler said. “Everybody’s been helping to make things work,” she said.