SO YOU HAVE TO INSPECT….A SCHOOL

BY GLENN P. CORBETT

Today’s elementary and high schools are relatively fire-safe, having built on tragedies of the past, including the Our Lady of the Angels school fire in Chicago in 1958. Soon after that tragic fire, the Los Angeles Fire Department and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) conducted a series of tests-“Operation School Burning” Numbers 1 and 2, in 1959 and 1960-to learn more about fire-safe school design. The tests concluded that the egress tenability was critical, including the need for complete fire-rated corridors with protected openings.

Nearly every community in this country has some type of school, often representing the largest life safety risk in many small communities. No matter where these “E” occupancies are located, many young lives are at risk.

One problem is that in old cities, schools can live forever, often bringing 19th century fire safety problems into the 21st century. I encourage inspectors to review existing older school buildings in light of modern building and fire codes.You may not be able to bring an old school completely up to date (especially from a building code standpoint), but it is worth the effort to try and establish the level of fire safety provided and abate the particularly dangerous aspects of the building.

Be aware that most states have a Department of Education or a similar agency, which will frequently have its own fire safety regulations to enforce. Take the time to review these regulations. In some cases, they may be in conflict with your local regulations. (Fortunately, some of these requirements are more stringent than those in our fire code. For example, concerning occupant loads, the maximum number of students permitted in a classroom under state requirements is often fewer than those permitted by the fire code.)

Following are some school inspection nuggets for the fire inspector:

Corridors. Required to be a minimum of six feet wide to accommodate large numbers of students and their lockers, corridors are the critical link to getting students safely out of the building. This means that you must ensure their fire-rating integrity (typically a “one-hour” corridor) and overall compliance: no holes in walls, no unprotected transoms above doors, properly working fire-rated doors with closers, working emergency lighting and exit signs, and so on. Pay particular attention to renovations/repairs that have compromised the fire-rated barrier.

Be aware that having an exit door directly to the exterior of the building from individual classrooms will modify the corridor’s fire-rating characteristics.

Watch out for chains on the panic hardware! I once encountered this situation with a principal who had been previously warned, so I cited this individual for the violation and brought it to the attention of the superintendent of schools. If you encounter such a situation, order immediate abatement!

Stairs. They have proved to be particularly dangerous over the years, usually because they are unenclosed and/or made of wood. If you encounter such stairs, point them out to the principal in writing. A separate registered letter usually is best for something like this (and also for other problems discussed in this article, such as corridor defects), as it gets the principal’s attention and points out the serious nature of the problem.

Be especially cautious here: Look for improper storage under the stairs. Janitor rooms are often few and far between in schools, so the area under the stairs becomes a convenient hiding place for mops and cleaning supplies.

Fire alarm systems. Can you think of a fire protection system more abused than a school fire alarm system? Learn about the system in the building-its type/sophistication, location/type of devices (just pull stations?), presence of off-site monitoring, “mischief covers” over the pull stations, and any “presignal” feature in place.

Obtain a copy of the school’s fire alarm policy. What? It doesn’t have one? Make sure that one is in place so that everyone understands what happens when a pull station is activated. Is the building immediately evacuated on receipt of an alarm? What is acceptable will vary from community to community. Make sure your fire chief is aware of the policy and is in agreement with it.

Fire drills. Many fire codes require a monthly drill, with records kept. Review the drill records. What? No drills? Have one conducted right then and there in your presence, no excuses. Although you don’t want to create adversaries, it is important to convey the message that drills are not just “paperwork” exercises.

Sprinkler systems. Larger (usually more than 20,000 square feet), more modern schools often have sprinkler systems. In many cases, the presence of these systems has allowed for a reduction in fire safety requirements (lower grade of construction permitted, increased egress travel distance, lower fire rating of corridors, and so on). Make sure the sprinkler systems are maintained and records are kept.

Auditoriums and cafeterias. Remember, even though they’re located in a school, they are still places of assembly and must meet all associated requirements including egress requirements such as aisle width, door swing and hardware, seating arrangements, pathway lighting (including low-light conditions), and so on. Are “stage” and platform requirements being met? (There are technical distinctions between a stage and a platform.)

The kitchen area of the cafeteria has the same fire code requirements as a restaurant.

Laboratories. The science lab can be a model of compliance or a mini Superfund site. You are charged with enforcing haz-mat regulations, which means that you must determine the type, quantity, and method of use, dispensing, and storage. The still relatively new “haz-mat” requirements found in modern fire codes can make doing this difficult. This includes using the “control-area” concept, allowing for the storage, distribution, and use of “exempt quantities” of hazardous materials. Always keep copious notes while reviewing the applicable code requirements. These notes will be especially useful in the future for comparison purposes, for ensuring that the school has not changed the materials, the quantities, or the method of storage.

Generally speaking, flammable liquid storage cabinets will be needed for some of the materials. Watch for incompatibilities such as two reactive materials stored next to each other.

One last note: Watch out for the legendary picric acid. It’s still found in many schools. If you encounter picric acid on an inspection, avoid handling its container, and call in the haz-mat team to dispose of this potentially explosive material.

GLENN P. CORBETT is a professor of fire science at John Jay College in New York City, a technical editor of Fire Engineering, and a captain with the Waldwick (NJ) Fire Department. He previously held the position of administrator of engineering services with the San Antonio (TX) Fire Department. Corbett has a master of engineering degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. He authored two chapters on fire prevention/protection in The Fire Chief’s Handbook, Fifth Edition (Fire Engineering Books, 1995). Corbett has been in the fire service since 1978.

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