A string of fires in schools in two different Jersey Shore communities over the past several weeks are under investigation after they all involved the heating and cooling system.
Twice firefighters rushed to Arthur Rann Elementary School in Galloway Township after HVAC units caught on fire.
The first time was on Jan. 26 and then it happened again on Feb. 23 when three more units sparked.
Then, another fire happened at Wildwood High School two days later.
“There was knowledge out there that other schools had had HVAC related fires. That was absolutely one of our concerns,” Wildwood Public Schools Superintendent Kenyon Kummings said.
All of these fires happened at night and no one was hurt.
“I’m learning now that it happened in another place, so that’s kind of scary,” parent Summer Hesse said. “Makes me wonder if it’s going to happen again.”
Sources told NBC10 that investigators are trying to determine if there is a connection between the fires.
They all involve similar HVAC units that are designed specifically for school buildings from the same manufacturer – Airedale by Modine.
“I have confidence that the investigation will determine whether there’s a direct link or it’s just something that’s completely, you know, separate,” Wildwood Fire Department Chief Ernie Troiano, III, said.
The HVAC units in Galloway Township were just installed over the summer.
The power is now cut to all of them with students and staff temporarily going to other local schools.
“The manufacturer actually came on site and inspected all the units to make sure there were wasn’t evidence that there was going to be a problem in other units,” Wildwood superintendent Kummings said.
A source said that investigators also want to know if there could be a connection to another HVAC unit fire that happened in November of 2025 at a school in northeast Pennsylvania
NBC10 reached out to Airedale by Modine about the fires and we have not yet heard back.
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