EDGARD — The state fire marshal is expected to review the renovation work at East St. John High School early next week, school officials said, and approve final occupancy, allowing students to fully use the school.

St. John the Baptist Parish School Board members voted 10-1 last week to approve a Certificate of Substantial Completion, signifying general contractor Lincoln Builders was basically complete servicing the project.

However, approving regular use of the school was not an open-and -shut decision.

During the meeting Thursday at West St. John Elementary School, District 11 School Board Member Clarence Triche voted against certificate approval because of his worries concerning the foam used to insulate the school’s welding area.

“With kids, you never know when they will take a welding rod and throw it up like the way they do trying to stick pencils in ceiling tiles,” Triche said. “That is the only thing that bothers me. It could happen. If one of the kids acts just kind of stupid and throws it up there, it could ignite a fire.”

Cindy Janecke, with All South Consulting Engineers, which is serving as the renovation’s project manager, said the school’s vocational technical building ceiling makeup is standard.

“You would see … (a) white cover that looks like a foam that has been sprayed on the ceiling,” she said. “That is covered with the thermal barrier that is essentially a fire proof coding that is put on top of the spray foam.”

Janecke said the school’s architect of record, Broadmoor Design Group, approved the products and their applications in the building, adding the “application is used throughout the country in schools and shops and conforms to building code.”

Triche said he researched the products used and thought a minimum of a half-inch of sheet rock should have been installed between the foam and where students and staff members operate.

“According to what I have read, one of the chemicals that is emitted once it burns is hydrogen cyanide,” Triche said. “Adolf Hitler thought (that was dangerous). He killed a bunch of Jews using it. From what I have been told, it is 270 parts per million. One smell of it and you’re dead.”

District 4 School Board Member Patrick Sanders expressed his displeasure with Triche’s assertions during Thursday’s School Board meeting.

“I’m sitting here thoroughly disappointed at this point because there has been ample opportunity for every Board member to either talk to the architect or the project manager to bring their concerns forward for anything to be addressed, and we could have avoided this issue at this point,” Sanders said.

Following the meeting, Triche told L’OBSERVATEUR he brought his concerns and research to the Board’s building committee chairperson months ago and thought they were not shared with other Board members.

District 8 School Board Member Russ Wise suggested the School Board proceed with the Certificate of Substantial Completion but asked Janecke to contact the fire marshal and have Triche’s concern specifically addressed for feedback to the School Board.

“I’m going to agree with everybody here,” Wise said. “Let’s move forward on this, but Mr. Triche may have a valid argument so it doesn’t take any harm to go check.”

Janecke said the fire marshal is scheduled to visit the school next week.