HATFIELD — All field hockey equipment for Smith Academy and the town’s recreation department was destroyed after an apparent lightning strike early Saturday evening totaled a shed at the school, according to Hatfield Fire Chief Robert Flaherty.
The fire department responded to the School Street site at 5:47 p.m. with Engine 1, with two firefighters aboard, and, along with state police, found the shed fully involved.
Firefighters stretched a hand line to protect an nearby electrical shed that houses well pumps for irrigation of the athletic fields, and also made sure the school’s commercial field mower parked close by wasn’t damaged. The exterior wall of the electrical shed took heat from the fire, but nothing inside was damaged, Flaherty said.
Whately Fire Department also responded to the incident. No injuries were reported, Flaherty said.
The schools used social media to offer appreciation for the quick response by Hatfield firefighters.
“Their actions saved our irrigation controls and a mower,” the schools wrote in a Facebook post.
Conor Driscoll, the superintendent and principal, said the destroyed shed contained almost the entirety of equipment for the school’s field hockey program and the town’s recreation program, with an estimated $2,200 worth of equipment lost. That is on top of the replacement cost for the shed.
The schools are working with insurance to determine what is covered, but with the fall sports season approaching, replacing the equipment quickly is a priority.
The schools are accepting donation checks which can be made out to Smith Academy, with a note in the memo line for field hockey.
