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Fire Safety Inspections Show Schools Up to Snuff

Thu, 08/15/2019 - 14:49
As part of annual fire inspections at schools, exit signs are tested to see if they operate in normal circumstances and in battery mode.
Carissa Katz

Ahead of next month’s start of classes, several local school districts have received updated certificates of occupancy following inspections conducted by fire marshals in East Hampton Town, East Hampton Village, and Southampton Town.

Schools are up for fire safety inspections every 11 months. In some cases, marshals’ visits in June and July were follow-ups after initial checks produced multiple code violations, according to documents provided by schools and the town after FOIL requests.

“The overall goal of the inspections is to make sure they’re compliant with the State Education Department’s rules and regulations,” said J. Kent Howie, the village’s fire marshal and code enforcement officer. “It’s fire safety for the people who occupy the building.”

An inspection of East Hampton schools in April by the town’s assistant chief fire marshal, Thomas Baker, yielded eight fire code violations at the high school. Mr. Howie’s inspections of the middle school and John M. Marshall Elementary School in May found 13 and 14 violations respectively.

Records show that the high school was reinspected on June 25. Mr. Baker found nothing amiss at that time, and the school received a new certificate of occupancy on July 11. The middle school was reinspected on July 16 and the elementary school on July 1, with Mr. Howie giving the two schools a clean report. They received new certificates of occupancy on July 17.

At East Hampton High School, records show that initial violations included “obstructed or obscured” emergency escape windows in several classrooms, and exit doors in the cafeteria and district office that failed to close and latch. Exit signs “failed in battery mode when tested” in the auditorium, gym, and rear corridor, and a few fire extinguishers were overdue for service.

Jerel Cokley, the district’s assistant superintendent for business, described the violations as “minor.” He said this week they were “addressed by our competent custodial crew with the oversight of our director of facilities.”

“We meet to go over the inspections for all buildings in general — not just for the non-conformance violations — so that we understand the full scope of the safety of our buildings each year,” Mr. Cokley said in an email. “. . . We prioritize all non-conformance violations based on level of urgency and occupancy of area by staff, students, [and] visitors. Correcting the non-conformances are addressed easily with none to minimal budgetary implications on occasion.”

Mr. Howie said violations that turned up at the middle and elementary schools were minor.

“Most of what we had this year was just housekeeping items,” he said. “Sometimes the teachers will put up too much material covering on the walls. They’re only allowed 50 percent of the wall in the classroom and 25 percent of the wall in the hallway.”

Mr. Howie has been inspecting those two schools for about five years now. “They have some of the same issues come up every year,” he said. “You may find an extension cord in the science room one year but in the main office next year, but most of what I’ve found is nothing really major.”

On May 9, Mr. Baker also inspected the Amagansett School, finding five violations. Records show the school’s fire alarm and fire sprinkler reports were overdue and that “several classrooms are missing emergency escape window labels.” Mr. Baker also noted that a front door was “difficult to open” and that some emergency lights’ and exit signs’ batteries failed when tested.

A reinspection at the Amagansett School was conducted June 26 and the school received its updated certificate of occupancy on July 9.

“It’s always great to have them come in,” said Sandy Nuzzi, Amagansett’s district clerk. “. . . They find things that we might not always look upon, like a light being out in an exit sign. They work well with us and they’re really helpful about informing people about what needs to be done and why it needs to be done.”

In Springs, 28 violations were found in the main school building during an inspection on April 22. Among them were electrical issues, overloaded power strips, obstructed exit doors and windows, an inoperable exit sign, and lighting that was potentially hazardous, including “small string lights” in three rooms and a salt lamp in another. Ceiling tiles were missing in multiple rooms, the inspection found, and a fire extinguisher was missing in the gym. The report also cited the school after some teachers put up students’ work that covered more than 50 percent of their classroom walls.A handful of violations was also noted at the Springs Youth Association building, but a reinspection on May 7 showed all of the violations at both buildings had been resolved.

Debra Winter, the Springs superintendent, said the issues in Springs were related to “many people in a small space,” and that the fire marshals are sensitive to the cramped quarters. “They know how taking one room offline is a hardship for us,” she said.

She said teachers have been asked to not bring in their own electric devices from home, such as surge protectors. “Just tell me and we’ll get it for you,” Ms. Winter said. “Nothing is cost-prohibitive. I may have to spread it out — not every classroom gets new carpets every year.”

She said the fire inspections are helpful. “We need to be reminded, and these inspections are good. . . . This is what we have to do.” Relationships with the fire marshals, she said, “are really important, especially with these gentlemen. They live in our community and they know our schools.”

East Hampton Town indicated in its Freedom of Information response that it does not inspect the Montauk School, which is instead inspected by New York State. Records show the most recent fire safety check there, conducted on May 15, turned up two issues that were corrected quickly. A state report shows a violation of a regulation mandating “fire protection equipment and locations are identified and maintained” and another that mandates “portable fire extinguishers are located in a conspicuous location, are readily accessible, are not obstructed or obscured, and are maintained.” The Montauk School received its new certificate of occupancy on May 17.

The Wainscott School was found to be in compliance with state fire codes for schools on June 11, with East Hampton Town Fire Marshal Dwayne Denton performing the inspection, and the school received a new certificate of occupancy.

On May 15, the Sagaponack School was inspected by Brian Williams, the Southampton Town fire marshal, and was without issue, records show. The school has received its updated certificate of occupancy.

The Bridgehampton School, which has multiple buildings on its campus, was inspected on May 19, also by Mr. Williams. Records show no issues were found and the school received certificates of occupancy on June 13 for its main building, prekindergarten building, modular classrooms, office building, and farmstand.

The Sag Harbor School District had not had its annual fire safety inspection as of press time.


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