An early morning fire near the train tracks spread into Paly, damaging insulation around a group of pipes for an ongoing construction project and the chained fence bordering the campus.

– Palo Alto High School administration

A fire that bled into the construction zone at Palo Alto High School today around 5:30 a.m. damaged the bike path fence and construction equipment for classroom buildings, according to Principal Phil Winston.

As a result of only a chain linked fence standing between the bike path and the campus, the fire that started on the path near the 300 building spread onto Paly campus.

“I got a phone call at 5:30 in the morning from the fire department,” said Winston, who arrived at the scene and surveyed the damage with Tim McBrian, project manager from the construction company, Gilbane Inc.

The damage consisted of insulation around a group of pipes. While these pipes are custom made, their specific design — straight and not curved — makes them easy to reproduce and therefore will not majorly impact the construction schedule, according to Winston. Winston commented that the company is likely reproducing them now and will have the new equipment shipped shortly.

“It [the damage] will cause a delay but it won’t be significant,” said Winston.

The cost of the construction equipment damage will most likely be reimbursed through an insurance claim, according to Winston.

While the fire has caused damage, it has also raised an important questions about security. The only barrier between the construction equipment on campus and the bike path was a chain linked fence. Besides fire, other incidents, like theft, can be of concern. The administration and the construction company will be looking into security because the construction company will be bringing in copper pipes soon, “which are stolen all the time,” according to Winston.

Unrelated to the early morning fire, another false alarm sent Paly students to the football field, the second time this week. The alarm was set off directly after brunch in the girl’s gym, according to Winston.

Winston said that the administration is currently surveying cameras around the alarm stations in order to find who has been pulling the alarms.