Special Windows Protect Deaf Students From Explosion

From: KATV - Little Rock,AR,USA - Mar 1, 2004

Posted By: Leigh-Alyson Walters

Little Rock, AR - The house explosion was so powerful it could be felt all over the city and as far away as North Little Rock.

In fact on the ualr campus,the director at the state's center for earthquake education says seismic equipment registered a reading at 7:32 am.

He says several readings were discovered.

Meantime, right next door, students at the Arkansas School for the Deaf felt the incredible jolt of the explosion as well.

The Arkansas School for the Deaf is about a block away from 2105 Loyd Court.

Students were eating breakfast when they felt the school shake and watched as the windows rattled.

(Myrtle Griffin, principal) "The windows gave-- they bent and were flexible. Luckily for us those windows had been coated last year with a special substance to help in case there were any kind of terrific impact damage to keep it from breaking and glass going everywhere."

The home economics cottage is the only building to sustain damage.

Two sliding glass doors crumbled under the pressure, and thankfully no one was inside the room when the house blew.

The principal says this window coating designed to protect from high winds-- no doubt kept kids safe.

(Griffin) "If it hadn't been for that we would have had a lot of injured young people."

"it's a learning experience for them now they know about gas furnaces and not to do anything like that again or for themselves in their own home."

The remaining windows in this building will get treated with the special coating. Griffin says the students weren't traumatized, but had counselors on hand just incase.

Copyright 2004 KATV, LLC