Public Health didn’t recommend water testing after Kettering janitor died from Legionnaires’ disease

KETTERING — Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County did not recommend testing of Kettering Fairmont High School’s water system following the death of one of the school’s custodians last year.

“We didn’t think testing was needed at that point,” said Dan Suffoletto, spokesman for Public Health.

>> Former Fairmont High School head custodian died from Legionnaires’ disease last year

Keith “Casey” Chaffin died May 5, 2019. His last shift at the high school was less than a month earlier, April 15, Kettering school officials said last week.

Casey Chaffin’s death certificate read that he died from Legionella pneumonia, multi-system organ failure and acute systolic heart failure, a spokeswoman with the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office said.

Suffeletto said Public Health reached the decision on not recommending testing after looking over the district’s complex water system.

“It wasn’t a good fit for testing,” he said.

The discovery comes after News Center 7 started investigating the water system issues when a second district employee was diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease last month. The condition of the second employee has not been disclosed.

After the second case was discovered, the district did hire a private company to do testing of the water system at the high school.

“This prompted the district to hire Solid Blend Water Management Solutions to do a complete test of all water systems at Fairmont High School,” school spokeswoman Kari Basson told News Center 7 Wednesday. “They did confirm the presence of Legionella in four locations in the building, and we are currently working with them to mitigate the situation.”

Legionella is a bacteria that can cause a serious type of pneumonia called Legionnaires’ disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Legionella can become a health concern when it grows and spreads in human-made building water systems.

In 2019, Montgomery County had three deaths due to Legionnaires’ disease, including Chaffin’s death. In 2020, there has been one death in February attributed to the disease.

Suffeletto said the disease is rare and typically isn’t transmitted by drinking water. He said it typically becomes an issue when Legionella is in shower heads or other faucets.

Public Health reported no additional cases aside from the two Kettering Fairmont employees have been traced to the high school.

News Center 7 has requested public records from Kettering City Schools to see if the district did any water testing or took any other actions following Chaffin’s death and are awaiting a response.

© 2020 Cox Media Group