The new weight room at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School – created in a former auto shop as part of an Under Armour-funded makeover of the school’s football field – was cited by fire officials last month for code violations including not properly building the floor and not securing hazardous materials.

Turns out the old repair pits with auto lifts in the school’s former automotive shop had been covered over with flimsy plywood and then topped with rubberized mats, according to the report by WBAL-TV aired this week.

“It was a hazmat situation,” Baltimore City Fire Marshall Deputy Chief Raymond O’Brocki  told WBAL. “You just don’t hear of a school system or anybody just sort of [uni]laterally deciding to cover over these oil pits with plywood and rubber mats and create a weight room.”

Fire officials, who appear to have been alerted to the problem by the TV station, told their 11 I-team reporter the flimsy floor could have caved in under someone’s feet.

“We actually tore the floor apart, picked up the rubberized flooring and we found the mechanical lifts, and we found that they were welded down, so we broke the welding,” Lt. Derrick Ready said on camera.

He went on to note that school officials told him the floor was completed hastily so that it would be ready in time for the VIP-studded ceremonies planned around the new field and the first game to be played on it.

Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and a host of dignitaries and alumni attended an October 26 ceremony to celebrate the new artificial turf field and weight room. Computer rooms, a digital scoreboard a wrap-around track and other new features were installed at the school as part of an estimated $1 million-plus donation by the sports apparel giant.

“They apologized to me and said, ‘Mr. Ready, we apologize. We did a temporary fix,” Ready told WBAL. “We should not have done it that way, but we had to get everything done for homecoming.”

School System Response

Baltimore City Schools spokeswoman Edie House-Foster sent The Brew and WBAL this response to their report:

“Through generous support from UnderArmour, a room at Dunbar High School was renovated this fall to be a high quality weight room. After the renovation was completed, a small amount of oil (about a quart) was discovered in an area beneath the floor.

“Upon learning of the problem on October 26, City Schools immediately contacted one of our environmental contractors, Waste Tron of Maryland (WTM), to assist in investigating this problem. WTM determined that the oil was recent and not from leakage from an abandoned hydraulic system beneath the floor. WTM removed the oil (approximately one quart).

“The oil was removed October 31, after a two-day delay because of Hurricane Sandy 2012.  No students were in the room after City Schools received notification on Friday, October 26, 2012 through October 31, 2012.

“There is no issue with oil in this weight room, nor is there any risk posed by the abandoned hydraulic system beneath the floor. As always, the safety of our students is our primary concern. We are pleased that this weight room is fully ready to be used by Dunbar’s outstanding athletic programs.”