School Officials Review Procedures After Construction Odor Closes Seaholm

Officials from and are reviewing the way they responded to a last week, an incident that closed the school early and sent five students and one staff member to the hospital.

On Thursday, the Birmingham Fire Department responded to an anonymous call from Seaholm concerning air quality in the school. It was the third day that students and staff were moved out of the school’s west wing after a foul odor from the construction site at Lincoln and Cranbrook made its way into  classrooms and hallways.

Fire department officials determined the smell was likely pulled in by the building’s air handling system on its western wall, which faces Cranbrook. Fire Chief Mike Metz advised leaving the system off overnight and letting the building ventilate, allowing the building to be odor-free for classes Friday morning.

Resin deemed smelly, but not dangerous

The smell came from a resin the county was using to line sewers on Cranbrook. Likened to smelling like solvent, airplane glue and spray paint, the smell irritated some people inside the school to the point of headaches, nausea and dizziness.

Officials from the Oakland County Water Resources (OCWR) office as well as the  contend the incident was a fluke and wasn’t the result of mismanagement at the construction site next to the high school.

Sue Coffey, a manager at OCWR, said though the resin is made up of chemicals, none of them were at high enough levels to be dangerous. In addition, the county has been completing this sewer-relining project at various locations throughout the township and never, she said, has there been a problem with the smell becoming a health risk.

Several air quality tests completed by the Birmingham Fire Department and a local haz mat unit confirmed that assessment, as did Debbie Sedam, OCWR’s safety coordinator who visited the scene Thursday afternoon to assess safety conditions for construction workers.

“They’ve had a particular focus on safety with the workers for this project,” Coffey said. “Debbie was satisfied that everyone followed the proper protocol.”

Assistant Fire Chief John Connaugton said the department considered the incident isolated, noting that Seaholm’s principal Dee Lancaster did the right thing in releasing students at 1:30 p.m.

The department didn’t revisit the school Friday morning nor did it have any plans to proactively measure air quality in schools.

Seaholm, district officials look for ways to improve

Birmingham schools spokeswoman Marcia Wilkinson said the district believes Seaholm officials handled the situation appropriately, with the district’s facilities manager and deputy superintendent working with the fire department and construction workers to do what’s best for students.

As for who initially called the fire department, Wlikinson said she’s not sure, noting it could be anyone from a parent to a concerned student. All teachers have the right to make 911 calls straight from their classroom if they believe their students to be in immediate danger, she said.

In most cases such as these, though, she said the chain of command is there for a reason. Teachers with concerns are directed to speak to building administrators, who then work with district officials.

Wilkinson said in situations in which student safety is involved it’s policy for those involved to regroup and assess what was done and how it can be done better in the future.

“Our No. 1 concern is student safety,” Wilkinson said. “And we’re always looking to improve our preparation.”

Those building and district officials were meeting Friday and early this week, she said.

Several parents at Seaholm's Thursday night football game against Berkley , noting they appreciated the three emails sent during the day keeping parents up to speed with the situation.

"I thought they handled it really well," said Kim Stoner, a parent of a Seaholm junior. "They sent all those emails, they had the fire department there. They communicated well."