COLUMBUS — Many Amish schools in Knox County have never had a fire inspection, but that will change in the next few weeks. An issue of top priority to State Fire Marshal Michael Bell and local fire chiefs, is the fire inspection of all schools in the state, including Amish schools, to ensure the safety of all children.
In the past, Amish schools, which do not ordinarily register with the state, are not on the list of schools the Ohio Department of Education provides to the fire marshal’s office. It has been up to the fire department personnel to locate the schools by word of mouth, and driving around the county, to locate the schools.
Bell said that the Ohio Fire Code does not require any agency to develop a list of all schools, including unregistered Amish schools, but his office will take on that task. Working with local departments, the list is growing.
Eastern Knox County Joint Fire District Chief Larry Stimpert said that his department has located 12 schools in their district. Fredericktown Chief Scott Mast said that his personnel have located six schools in the Fredericktown Community Fire District. All of these schools will be inspected in the near future, most of them for the first time.
The Amish are not required to register their schools with the state, which has made it difficult to develop a plan to inspect them. Exempt from many requirements, deciding which sections of the Ohio Fire Code to enforce at the schools is a balancing act. “If we have a dangerous hazardous situation, then we can require a change be made,” said Code Enforcement Inspector Roger Clark, who works for the Division of State Fire Marshal.
Rep. Thom Collier compared the situation to the safety measures the state has requested the Amish comply with regarding their buggies, that some Amish communities have refused to follow.
Over the years, the Amish have battled against forced safety measures in court and won. “They are not required to follow any operating standards regarding health and safety,” Collier said. “Even if I passed a law tomorrow that stated that every Amish school simply had to register their location with the state, that does not mean they would comply,” Collier said. “When they fight it in court they would likely win based on the U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1972 in Wisconsin v. Yoder.” That decision exempted the Amish from many state requirements. “It’s been tested time and time again,” Collier said.
Developing the list of schools to inspect presents many challenges. “We’re still working on the list,” Clark said. “One chief told me that he had 20 or so done, Clark explained. “These are volunteer chiefs who are finding the time to do this,” he said. “It’s a work in progress.”
Ohio has the world’s largest Amish community. There are hundreds of Amish schools throughout the state that have been exempt from registration, that the fire marshal’s office intends to locate and inspect.
Collier said that he and Rep. Larry Flowers examined the issue in other states, looking for communities that had successfully dealt with similar issues. “What we found in states such as Indiana is that the best way to handle the situation is the local fire chiefs establishing a good relationship with the local bishops and other Amish leaders,” Collier said. “In those states that has been the most effective way for fire chiefs to have access,” he said. “It does put an added burden on the local chiefs, but it is the most effective way.”
Voluntary compliance by the Amish community makes the fire officials’ job much easier. Developing a good relationship with the Amish community is crucial to developing safety plans within their schools. Bell said he understands the dilemma that fire officials sometime face when they are asked to respect a culture that does not use electricity or telephones. Both can be essential in an emergency.
The Amish are especially cautious regarding their schools because of the tragic school shooting that occurred in a Pennsylvania Amish school last year. “They’re very cautious about anybody coming around their kids,” Bell said.
Bell said that the issues surrounding fire safety in the Amish schools are sometimes difficult to deal with, and that it is essential to build relationships with the Amish community to develop a safety and inspection program. “These are good people,” Bell said of the community that his office is working to understand.
Local chiefs have taken the initiative to develop programs using state guidelines as a foundation. At a recent Knox County Fire Chiefs meeting, inspectors who deal with the Amish in other areas of the state spoke to the Knox County officials about the appropriate ways to develop a fire safety plan in an Amish community.
Both EKCJFD and the Fredericktown department have given fire safety presentations in Amish schools by invitation. Both Mast and Stimpert were pleased that some of the Amish have invited them into their schools to talk with their children.
Bell has met with Amish community members in Holmes County, where the Amish have presented safety demonstrations to their community with the help of local fire departments. Clark said that an Amish Safety Council, such as other Amish communities have, would be a tremendous help to their effort.
During the meeting, officials exchanged ideas about what fire safety measures should be followed in Amish schools. The fact that at least two recent fires in Amish schools were not reported to the state was also discussed. The Amish have a reluctance to comply with any procedure that involves reporting to the state.
“I did get some insight into the Amish school situation,” Mast said after the meeting. “It’s a delicate matter that I haven’t dealt with in the past. They definitely have some insight that I can utilize in my inspection program,” Mast said.
Stimpert, whose department responded to an Amish school fire last fall at a location that had been previously unknown to their department, said that he is compiling a list of schools in his district, and inspections will soon follow. He understands the Amish may be reluctant at first, but he believes with effort, the relationship with his department will continue to build. “In order to accomplish this, we need to establish relationships with Amish leaders and the Amish school boards,” Stimpert said. “It’s going to take a little time for them to be comfortable with it. They need to understand where we’re coming from, and we need to understand where they’re coming from,” Stimpert said.
Clark, who grew up in a community with several Amish families and attended school with many Amish children, said that understanding the Amish can be difficult because of the difference among the congregations. “We get so many different levels,” Clark explained. “Mennonites, Old Order, New Order, we’ve got to try to understand them all,” Clark said.
With an understanding attitude, working with the Amish becomes easier according to Clark. “We don’t insult, but we still educate.”
Local fire officials approach Amish leaders in a friendly way that lets them know that the fire departments are interested in helping them keep their children safe. The fire departments have taken the position that all schools need to be inspected and made safe regardless of the schools’ cultural or religious affiliation. No exceptions or exemptions.
“We’re here to make sure the school is safe for the children, the same as English schools,” Mast said.
Appropriate exits, fire extinguishers and smoke detectors are all required in the Amish schools according to a checklist that Mast is providing to the school authorities. Fire drill reports will be checked as they are in all schools. Furnaces, stoves and chimneys are inspected. Wood stoves and lamps powered with flammable liquids are special concerns, and both must be used in the safest manner possible.
