MOUNT VERNON — According to local fire officials, mandatory school fire inspections conducted throughout the county have been going well.
Central Ohio Joint Fire District Chief Joe Porter said his department found only minor violations at the Centerburg schools.
“There are one or two things that the elementary school is working on,” Porter said. “Storage is a big issue.”
Porter said his department will be reinspecting the Centerburg elementary school the first week of January to see that violations have been corrected.
Porter said the Highland schools had mainly light bulb and emergency lighting issues. He said the inspections in both school systems were similar to past years.
“Usually what we run into is storage, bulbs and batteries,” he said.
Chief Bob Hooper of the College Township Fire Department said the Wiggin Street Elementary School in Gambier has been working on minor violations dealing with a fire exit. Hooper said his department will continue to work with the school on the changes needed.
Eastern Knox County Joint Fire District conducts its school fire inspections toward the end of the school year, according to Capt. Chris Willis. He said his department inspects all of the East Knox and Danville schools, as well as five Amish schools. Willis said the latest inspections found very few minor violations.
Fredericktown Community Fire District Chief Scott Mast said his department does its own independent inspections of the local schools, in addition to accompanying the inspectors from the state fire marshal’s office.
“I hope to be through all the schools sometime in January,” Mast said, adding that he has also done periodic walkthroughs at the school building under construction.
“We’ve been keeping an eye on things,” he said.
Mount Vernon Assistant Fire Chief Chris Menapace said he is pleased with the results of inspections at all of the Mount Vernon city schools.
“I do feel satisfied with the inspections in the city schools,” he said. “We have some projects at the Alternative Center and East Elementary, changing some egress routes.”
School officials have been cooperative, Menapace said, even though the solutions to some violations have been more involved.
“Some of the things we’ve adjusted aren’t cheap,” Menapace said, adding that projects such as running new conduit are currently under way within the schools. “Overall, I’m completely satisfied with the reaction of the school system.”
Menapace said the private schools within the Mount Vernon district have also all been inspected, some for the first time this year.
“Private schools have done well,” Menapace said. “Overall, I am completely satisfied with the urgency the decisionmakers of the school systems have shown. It was obvious to me that they care about the safety of students and staff.
“I feel that the kids were safe originally; the bar has been raised, and they are even more safe now,” Menapace said.
According to The Division of State Fire Marshal’s Office, it has received responses from some local fire departments about school fire inspections after a letter was sent by the marshal’s office to all Ohio fire departments in October.
Mast said he felt the letter was a step toward better communication between local fire departments and the SFM regarding inspections, and said he was asked to give input regarding the SFM’s efforts to build a database of schools in Ohio. According to the Ohio Fire Code, schools must receive annual fire inspections by the SFM, or the division’s designee, each year. These inspections are required for all kindergarden through 12th-grade schools with 20 or more students.
Barney Wolf, communications chief for the Ohio Department of Commerce, which includes the division of state fire marshal, said the state has not yet received responses from the Bladensburg Fire Department, which includes a sub-station in Martinsburg, the Utica Fire Department or the College Township Fire Department.
Wolf said when a local fire department does not inform the SFM that inspections have been made by the local department, the SFM will conduct the inspection. The SFM therefore plans on conducting inspections in Bladensburg and College Township. Utica schools were inspected by the SFM in November, and the violations found were corrected.
The COJFD, EKCJFD and MVFD informed the state they will perform the inspections in their respective districts, according to Wolf. Homer and Fredericktown both requested inspections by the state fire marshal.
According to Wolf, the creation of a database to account for school inspections statewide continues.
“This is going to be an ongoing process for some time,” he said. “Sometime after the first of the year we’ll determine which fire departments have not responded, and follow up. We’ll get a list of schools from the Ohio Department of Education, and compare the lists and go from there.”
Wolf said efforts are being made to improve communication between local fire departments and the SFM.
“We’re continuing to contact the districts,” he said.
Wolf added that at regional meetings with fire chiefs regarding the new 2007 Ohio Fire Code, the local departments are encouraged to follow up with the SFM.
“We’re letting the fire chiefs know that they need to inform the SFM about schools in their districts, and whether or not they’re doing the inspections,” he said.
