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Cape Coral--More Florida Schools Sited for Fire Safety Problems
Schools fail fire code check
District has until June 30 to fix problems
By JENNIFER BOOTH REED, [email protected]
news-press.com
• Read for yourself: Letter from insurance commissioner reminding school officials of June 30 compliance deadline
Local fire marshals are scrutinizing schools in compliance with a new state law, and at least one will recommend shutting about 60 classrooms in two schools unless the district fixes fire code violations.
The law, which took effect last July, requires local fire authorities to inspect schools annually. The first set of reports is due to the state fire marshal on June 30.
Fire officials can recommend closing entire schools or parts of schools if they detect deficiencies. They also can ask school districts to write corrective action plans.
The threat of closure calls to mind the 2000 fire code crisis when the state almost didn’t allow Lee schools to open on time for the start of the school year.
The system still is trying to fix the code violations made public at that time.
Those include the problems Bonita Springs Fire Marshal Dave Davenport sees at Spring Creek Elementary and Bonita Springs Middle School, where some of the walls are not fire-rated, posing a risk to students and staff. He doesn’t want people occupying the approximately 60 rooms unless the problem is fixed.
“It’s not new. They’ve been talking about it for some time. Under the state fire marshal rules, that’s considered one of the problem areas — a serious or life safety deficiency,” Davenport said.
Changes in the law mean schools now must comply with state building codes and fire marshal regulations rather than the more lenient Department of Education facilities rules.
Plans to fix the problems are already in the works, Lee schools Superintendent James Browder said. He put a hold on new construction because of lingering code issues and decided to hasten needed repairs.
“We’re gonna comply with the law and do things as quickly as we can to make it work,” Browder said.
Many of the problems Davenport and other fire officials brought to Browder’s attention already appear on his “to do” list.
Browder’s fire safety repair plan allocates $1.5 million to fix problems at Spring Creek in 2003 and $3 million to fix problems at Bonita Middle in 2004.
District and fire officials must negotiate and agree to an action plan and timeline for repairs.
Most of the schools Cape Coral fire inspectors flagged as problematic also appear on Browder’s list. They include Cape Elementary, Cape High, Gulf Elementary, Gulf Middle and Pelican Elementary.
Cape Coral Fire Chief Bill van Helden said the law gives school districts 60 days to write a corrective action plan.
“We’ve come a long way, but we still have a long way to go,” he said. “We have to make sure they’re satisfied with No. 1 their corrections and No. 2 their timeliness.”
Problems may be broader than what’s listed on Browder’s repair list, suggested district safety director Ernie Scott, whose department also conducted a fire safety review.
Scott said portable classrooms on several campuses are placed too close together.
All told, Scott thinks about 20 schools have serious issues.
Browder said he’ll amend his fire safety repair plan as needed once he sees the reports.
Lehigh Acres fire inspector Neil Little said he has been trying to call attention to the portables problem for years.
“I believe at two schools portables are too close together. I have two of the schools where I have no access for firefighting equipment,” Little said. “I’ve addressed this problem for years and they don’t seem to think it’s a priority.”
He and other fire officials hope new oversight by the state fire marshal will put teeth into fire code enforcement. But Little said he’ll wait and see how the process goes — the state fire marshal’s office is severely understaffed, he said.
The new law requires school districts to do their own inspections, followed by the fire district’s independent review. School administrators then review the fire officials’ report, merge the two inspections and send the reports to Tallahassee.
Such collaboration may yield creative solutions.
San Carlos Fire Marshal Tom Beard, for example, said he has been talking to a fire prevention specialist about San Carlos Park Elementary, which has the same design and same problems as Spring Creek.
He said the specialist suggested adding sprinklers to the school instead of building permanent walls, an answer that could save the district money. The reports also may shed light on the extent of code violations in Lee schools.
Browder said he still can’t get his arms around the problem.
“The biggest thing we’re doing right now is collecting accurate data. There was so much out there. It was so disjointed,” he said.
Fire officials in some parts of the county said code violations have nearly disappeared from their schools — a giant leap from where the buildings were a few years ago.
Others say many of the problems could be resolved simply with more staff attention to safety.
Fire officials credited Browder for prioritizing safety and halting construction until code issues in both existing schools and those planned for construction are addressed.
“Dr. Browder’s got a real good idea — don’t build anything new until you do it right,” Beard said. “We’re pretty excited about that.”
District has until June 30 to fix problems
By JENNIFER BOOTH REED, [email protected]
news-press.com
• Read for yourself: Letter from insurance commissioner reminding school officials of June 30 compliance deadline
Local fire marshals are scrutinizing schools in compliance with a new state law, and at least one will recommend shutting about 60 classrooms in two schools unless the district fixes fire code violations.
The law, which took effect last July, requires local fire authorities to inspect schools annually. The first set of reports is due to the state fire marshal on June 30.
Fire officials can recommend closing entire schools or parts of schools if they detect deficiencies. They also can ask school districts to write corrective action plans.
The threat of closure calls to mind the 2000 fire code crisis when the state almost didn’t allow Lee schools to open on time for the start of the school year.
The system still is trying to fix the code violations made public at that time.
Those include the problems Bonita Springs Fire Marshal Dave Davenport sees at Spring Creek Elementary and Bonita Springs Middle School, where some of the walls are not fire-rated, posing a risk to students and staff. He doesn’t want people occupying the approximately 60 rooms unless the problem is fixed.
“It’s not new. They’ve been talking about it for some time. Under the state fire marshal rules, that’s considered one of the problem areas — a serious or life safety deficiency,” Davenport said.
Changes in the law mean schools now must comply with state building codes and fire marshal regulations rather than the more lenient Department of Education facilities rules.
Plans to fix the problems are already in the works, Lee schools Superintendent James Browder said. He put a hold on new construction because of lingering code issues and decided to hasten needed repairs.
“We’re gonna comply with the law and do things as quickly as we can to make it work,” Browder said.
Many of the problems Davenport and other fire officials brought to Browder’s attention already appear on his “to do” list.
Browder’s fire safety repair plan allocates $1.5 million to fix problems at Spring Creek in 2003 and $3 million to fix problems at Bonita Middle in 2004.
District and fire officials must negotiate and agree to an action plan and timeline for repairs.
Most of the schools Cape Coral fire inspectors flagged as problematic also appear on Browder’s list. They include Cape Elementary, Cape High, Gulf Elementary, Gulf Middle and Pelican Elementary.
Cape Coral Fire Chief Bill van Helden said the law gives school districts 60 days to write a corrective action plan.
“We’ve come a long way, but we still have a long way to go,” he said. “We have to make sure they’re satisfied with No. 1 their corrections and No. 2 their timeliness.”
Problems may be broader than what’s listed on Browder’s repair list, suggested district safety director Ernie Scott, whose department also conducted a fire safety review.
Scott said portable classrooms on several campuses are placed too close together.
All told, Scott thinks about 20 schools have serious issues.
Browder said he’ll amend his fire safety repair plan as needed once he sees the reports.
Lehigh Acres fire inspector Neil Little said he has been trying to call attention to the portables problem for years.
“I believe at two schools portables are too close together. I have two of the schools where I have no access for firefighting equipment,” Little said. “I’ve addressed this problem for years and they don’t seem to think it’s a priority.”
He and other fire officials hope new oversight by the state fire marshal will put teeth into fire code enforcement. But Little said he’ll wait and see how the process goes — the state fire marshal’s office is severely understaffed, he said.
The new law requires school districts to do their own inspections, followed by the fire district’s independent review. School administrators then review the fire officials’ report, merge the two inspections and send the reports to Tallahassee.
Such collaboration may yield creative solutions.
San Carlos Fire Marshal Tom Beard, for example, said he has been talking to a fire prevention specialist about San Carlos Park Elementary, which has the same design and same problems as Spring Creek.
He said the specialist suggested adding sprinklers to the school instead of building permanent walls, an answer that could save the district money. The reports also may shed light on the extent of code violations in Lee schools.
Browder said he still can’t get his arms around the problem.
“The biggest thing we’re doing right now is collecting accurate data. There was so much out there. It was so disjointed,” he said.
Fire officials in some parts of the county said code violations have nearly disappeared from their schools — a giant leap from where the buildings were a few years ago.
Others say many of the problems could be resolved simply with more staff attention to safety.
Fire officials credited Browder for prioritizing safety and halting construction until code issues in both existing schools and those planned for construction are addressed.
“Dr. Browder’s got a real good idea — don’t build anything new until you do it right,” Beard said. “We’re pretty excited about that.”
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