New Bedford School Closed for Third Day After Oil Leak
NEW BEDFORD — An elementary school in New Bedford's North End was closed on Monday for the third straight school day due to ongoing boiler issues, according to school officials.
New Bedford Public Schools spokesperson Arthur Motta said Jireh Swift Elementary School was closed again on Nov. 28 "out of an abundance of caution" after a fuel pump in the boiler room leaked heating oil.
School facilities crews worked with the city's fire department and other agencies, including health officials, to remove all trace of the leak — including residual odors — before the building will be reoccupied, Motta stated.
The school was also closed due to problems with the boiler on Tuesday and Wednesday last week ahead of the Thanksgiving break.
No further information about the boiler issue has been released.
Motta did not say if school is expected to resume as normal tomorrow.
It is also unclear if the students will be required to make up the three missed days at the end of the academic year.
Swift School is located at Lund's Corner, where Acushnet Avenue meets Tarkiln Hill Road.
Temperatures are expected to dip below freezing tonight, with frost in the forecast for Tuesday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
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