By Kent Thompson
The Humboldt Fire Department was dispatched to a New Year’s Day fire call at the Humboldt Middle School shortly after 4 p.m. on Monday.
The issue was a frozen sprinkler system head in the vestibule area between the Humboldt Middle School and the Humboldt High School.
According to Humboldt Fire Chief Jim Gronbach, “the sprinkler head broke, dispersing water on the floor, and activating the sprinkler system in the middle school cafeteria. There also was some seepage into the west hallway from the vestibule, leading into the high school.
While the vestibule is heated, there is no secondary heat source and the extremely cold weather caused the sprinkler head to break. Actual temperatures in Humboldt Monday afternoon were -5, with wind chills making the air feel about 25 to 30 degrees colder.
A water line feeding the sprinkler system runs directly from the high school to the middle school.
