Light pole falls at Norview High School

NORFOLK, Va. - After a large light pole fell onto the bleachers at Norview High School on September 3, the school has canceled all night games for the remainder of the season, according to a school spokesperson.

The pole was part of a recent recall.

Norfolk Public School spokesperson, Mike Spencer, says the school system hired a local contractor to remove the remaining three poles at the stadium.

No one was hurt when the pole fell Thursday.

A Suffolk Public Schools spokesperson says King's Fork High School, which opened in 2004, has a similar lighting system. The school system has contacted a structural engineering firm to inspect the poles. There are no events scheduled at that stadium until September 11.

On August 24, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a public alert about the steel stadium light poles, manufactured by Whitco Co. LP out of Fort Worth. The poles can fracture or crack and fall over, posing a risk of serious injury and death. The poles are between 70 and 135 feet tall and weigh between one and four tons.

The CPSC is urging anyone that uses these light poles to inspect them immediately.

The CPSC has received at least nine reports of incidents in which the Whitco Co. LP poles installed from about 2000 through 2006 fell. The majority of the incidents occurred in Texas.

WAVY News 10 contacted area schools to find out if any more have the defective poles on their property. Virginia Beach Schools says it does not have any of the light poles; neither does Old Dominion University. Other districts are looking into the matter.

Norview High School says its first home football game is scheduled for September 25.

If you have any questions about this warning, call the CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772.