Court battle erupts over cause of COVID-19-era fire at Erie middle school

Lina Portman3 days ago

0 4 minutes read

More than $4 million in damage was caused by a fire that tore through the maintenance room at Wilson Middle School in October 2020. The insurer blames the fire on a rechargeable battery in a disinfectant sprayer.

A fire damaged Wilson High School in the Erie School District in October 2020 while students were attending classes remotely
Insurance company that covered $4.3 million loss says faulty rechargeable battery that powered handheld disinfectant sprayer was the cause
Sprayer seller blames actions of Chinese companies he says designed and manufactured batteries

A fire at Wilson High School in Erie during the pandemic in October 2020 left more than $4 million in damage.

Nearly four years later, the fire has spawned a multi-layered legal battle over the alleged cause — an alleged cause that legal records have made public.

The insurance company that covered the loss for the Erie school district says the cause was a faulty rechargeable battery that powered a handheld disinfectant sprayer.

The lawsuit claims the sprayer caught fire in Wilson's lower-level maintenance office around 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 2, 2020. The blaze destroyed the office and pumped smoke through the 126,313-square-foot, two-story school built in 1927 at 718 E. 28th St. Automatic fire alarms alerted firefighters.

No one was injured. The damage from fire, water and smoke was so severe that the school district had to wait a year before it could use the building again.

The Erie school district's insurer, Boston-based Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co., paid the district $4.3 million for fire-related repairs, according to court documents.

To recover the money, Liberty Mutual is suing the sprayer’s seller, Ohio-based Victory Innovations Co. Liberty Mutual filed suit in Erie County District Court in August 2022, but the case has become newly active.

The 10,000-student Erie School District is also a plaintiff in the case, although Liberty Mutual is the original party in the litigation, according to court documents. The district said its deductible for the insurance claim was $25,000.

Sprayer vendor sues Chinese companies over battery issues

Victory Innovations denies the allegations, and the case remained largely dormant until May. That's when Victory Innovations sued several companies it says designed, manufactured and assembled the sprayer's battery.

The companies being sued by Victory Innovations and which it seeks to add as co-defendants include Alltronics Holding Limited and Shenzhen Ipaky Electronics Technology Co., both based in China.

The involvement of the foreign companies has complicated an already complex case that includes allegations of negligence and product liability. On Monday, Victory Innovations' attorneys filed a motion seeking additional time to serve court papers on the foreign defendants.

“Service of court documents on parties in mainland China requires that such documents be processed through the Central Authority of China in accordance with the Hague Convention,” according to the motion, which refers to international standards for legal affairs and other matters.

Service of court documents in accordance with Hague Convention standards will take “between six and eight months,” the motion said.

Pennsylvania law generally requires that service of legal documents occur within 90 days.

Once the Chinese defendants are notified, they will have the opportunity to file a response in court. Erie County Judge Daniel Brabender is presiding over the case.

The lawsuit alleges that the spray paste was the subject of a recall notice

Regardless of the outcome of the case, the lawsuit and other court filings have focused on the disinfectant sprayer. The Erie School District received two shipments of handheld sprayers to disinfect classrooms during the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the lawsuit.

According to the complaint, Liberty Mutual claims the device that caught fire was a Victory sprayer equipped with a lithium-ion battery. The complaint claims the battery was “defective and unsafe for its intended use because it overcharged when connected to the handheld sprayer and caught fire.”

In December 2020, about two months after the fire, the lawsuit claims, the school district and Liberty Mutual “received a safety recall notice” from Victory Innovations regarding the sprayer model “and the risks and hazards associated with the battery, including the risk of fire.”

According to the lawsuit, the sprayer that caught fire “contained batteries that were subject to the recall and were known to be defective and dangerous.”

Victory Innovations claims it is not responsible for the fire. It blames Chinese companies, over which it “had no control and for which it cannot be held responsible,” according to the complaint filed by Victory Innovations to add co-defendants.

Wilson fire is third in Erie school district in three years

Students in the Erie School District were learning remotely at the time of the fire, but it still caused major disruptions. Teachers were using Wilson’s classrooms to livestream lessons to the school’s more than 700 students.

The school district relocated those 40 to 50 teachers to Strong Vincent Middle School while remediation teams worked at Wilson. In-person classes resumed for district students in spring 2021. The district reopened Wilson for the 2021-22 school year.

This is the third fire at a school in the Erie School District in three years. A fire in May 2017 destroyed the horticulture lab at Erie High School. A smaller fire destroyed a science classroom at Erie High School in December 2018. Both fires were accidental.

Erie Schools Superintendent Brian Polito referenced the other fires while commenting on the Wilson fire a few days after that fire.

“Unfortunately, we don't know how to handle these situations,” Polito said.

Contact Ed Palattella at [email protected] or 814-870-1813. Follow him on X @ETNpalattella.

More than $4 million in damage was caused by a fire that tore through the maintenance room at Wilson Middle School in October 2020. The insurer blames the fire on a rechargeable battery in a disinfectant sprayer.

Sprayer vendor sues Chinese companies over battery issues

The lawsuit alleges that the spray paste was the subject of a recall notice

Wilson fire is third in Erie school district in three years

Lina Portman

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