It wasn’t too big of a deal for those in the building, but the record-breaking freezing temperatures that hit the Midwest last week resulted in two reheat coils to crack, then burst when Oxford High School students returned to class on Friday.

Due to the damage, one restroom is closed.

According to Tony Sarkins, the district’s director of maintenance, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s freezing temperatures that left schools cancelled froze and split two reheating coils in the high school’s ceiling. When it got a little warmer the next day, those coils burst.

Reheat coils help an area retain a certain temperature by controlling the humidity in the air.

“It got extremely cold and we’ve never experienced these kind of temperatures before,” Sarkins said. “It froze these coils and then, of course, it split them, and then when it warmed up, they let loose… It made quite a mess with the ceiling.”

For now, one bathroom in the school’s 300 hall is out of use. Sarkins plans to get a contractor out to the school on Thursday, but does not have a timeline or cost estimation for the fix at this point. But, he said the damage is not large enough to merit an insurance claim.

To fix the area, lightbulbs, carpet, ceiling tiles, drywall and paint will need to be replaced. He and his team also want to install an access hatch so the reheat coil can be reached in the future.

But for the students, the burst wasn’t too big of a deal. OHS Principal Steven Wolf said no classes have been moved and the hallways are clean and open. If anything, students near that closed bathroom have been given a little more time as they will have to walk further.

“It’s really not too much of an interruption to our normal school day,” Wolf said.

Even though last week’s extreme temperatures aren’t common, the district will be conducting an investigation to try an prevent these bursts in the future.

“We’re going to investigate it and we’re going to try and figure out where there must have been some kind of draft or air infiltration,” Sarkins said. “We’re going look at it to see what we need to do about sealing it up and find out why that area got cold enough up there that it got effected.”

Wolf noted that he’s thankful for the 2017 voter-approved bond, which allows a repair of OHS’ roof this summer.

“I’m glad that one of the first steps as part of our bond that passed last fall was getting the roof fixed,” he said. “While this wasn’t a roof issue, we certainly look beneath the roof and any other pipes or maintenance that needs to be done.”