Blast closes Main Line Catholic school for a week

A pre-dawn boiler explosion Monday at Saints Colman-John Neumann School in Bryn Mawr has forced the cancellation of classes until at least Friday, the archdiocese said.

"This incident occurred prior to the arrival of any students or school administrators. Thankfully, no one was injured," said Kenneth A. Gavin, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

When staff first arrived at the school at 372 Highland Lane, "they initially noticed a lack of proper heat in the building and communicated the same to school families. Later, they detected an odor of natural gas," which led to the discovery that one of two boilers had exploded, Gavin said.

A structural engineer was brought in to examine the area of the explosion and determine if there were any other problems caused by the explosion. A PECO crew and an insurance adjuster also visited the school Monday.

Both boilers will be replaced and that work is expected to take at least until Thursday to complete, Gavin said.

Gavin said an issue with the boiler caused the explosion.

Gas explosion at school in Delaware Co. #6abc - https://t.co/uQQZrJMRd2 pic.twitter.com/apm1zFOm3F

— Action __news on 6abc (@6abc) January 30, 2017

Published: January 30, 2017 — 5:35 PM EST The Philadelphia Inquirer

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