George Washington Middle School to reopen Friday

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George Washington Middle School to reopen Friday
George Washington Middle School (S. Stanton for Visit Alexandria)
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By Alexa Epitropoulos | aepitropoulos@alextimes.com

After being closed for three days due to a burst water pipe, George Washington Middle School will reopen on Friday.

The middle school was cleared for reopening after testing this morning and repairs that were made throughout the week. The Alexandria Fire Marshall deemed the building safe to reopen on Thursday.

All sprinklers and the fire alarm systems throughout the building are functioning normally, with the exceptions of the alarm pull stations in the school’s A wing, where classes for sixth and seventh grade, as well as electives, are held.

Repairs to the fire alarm system are expected to be completed by the end of the day on Friday. 

The school was first closed on Monday evening due to a burst water pipe in the electrical room. At that point, the fire marshall said the building was unsafe to reenter until the issue had been resolved. Activities in the school and on school grounds were canceled for a three day period. The burst water pipe followed a week of particularly cold weather.

The region’s recent cold snap, in fact, caused several pipes and water mains to break across the city. Two water breaks occurred on Tuesday, one at the intersection of Janneys and North Quaker Lane and the other on Trinity Drive.

The breaks affected 200 Virginia American Water customers and 29 fire hydrants. Virginia American Water crews were on scene to repair the breaks on Tuesday evening. A city news release said the company was also in the midst of repairing smaller breaks throughout the city caused by extreme temperature fluctuations.

Cold weather also resulted in a frozen sprinkler pipe bursting at Gadsby’s Tavern Museum on Sunday, causing flooding from the basement to the second floor. Damage to the museum’s collection was minimal, according to a city news release, though Gadsby’s Tavern Museum will be closed to tours through at least Jan. 24. Museum staff and the city’s Department of General Services are in the midst of assessing damages to the historic structure itself.

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