Dear Galloway Township School District Families and Staff:
I am reaching out with a difficult update regarding Arthur Rann Elementary School. We understand this information is concerning, and certainly wasn't what any of us anticipated sharing today, but we want to ensure you have the most current facts as quickly as possible.
Around 12:15am notification was received that there was a fire at the Arthur Rann Elementary School. Upon arrival the Galloway Township Fire Department confirmed there was again an active fire within the building. Once again, due to their professionalism they managed to extinguish the existing fire. In addition, while at the school they located two additional fires that had begun, and quickly extinguished those before it spread any further.
While there may already be speculations circulating regarding what caused the fires I wanted to be clear that the official cause of the fires remains under investigation, but again does not appear suspicious in nature. Similar to the initial fire event that occurred on January 26, 2026, which is also still under investigation, what I can confirm is that the source of these fires are beginning in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) units that were newly installed this summer. After the first fire the district adhered to the advice of a variety of community resources and vendors who confirmed that while the initial HVAC units fire was still under investigation, there was no reason to believe any of the other HVAC that were recently installed were a concern. As we know now that is certainly not the case and of significant concern to the district. At the current time all power has been cut to all of the new HVAC units that were installed this summer.
Similar to the previous fire event, there was again some damage from the fires, as well as water damage in a few different classrooms. As we have learned from the past event, smoke damage and air quality issues are again a concern for the entire school and at this time we can only assume that the progress made in the center and rear of the Arthur Rann School by our vendor AllRisk has been lost or at least set back. The district, or AllRisk will not have access to the building until the fire inspector gives the district clearance, and that timeline is unknown at this time due to the blizzard.
We are again thankful that our staff and students are safe. Please know that any and all decisions will always be made with their safety at the forefront. At the current time the district will keep its current plan in place for our Arthur Rann staff and students, and reminders for those plans will be sent to all parents/guardians once the severe inclement weather has subsided.
Finally, we owe a debt of gratitude to our local first responders. Despite the extreme weather conditions and the dark of night, the Galloway fire departments, Galloway Township Police, Galloway EMS, Galloway Emergency Management teams and the Galloway Township School District Facilities Manager, all responded with incredible speed. We are profoundly thankful for their dedication to the safety of our school community.
Sincerely,
Stephen P. Santilli
Superintendent of Schools