Fire safety was on the mind of the Board of Education this week as it heard a safety inspection report from Fire Marshal Keith Byrne and a reminder that the local fire department will come to school on October 7 for Fire Prevention Week to educate the children in how to respond to a fire in their homes.
Byrne told the board that he and Deputy Marshal John DeShazo have conducted annual Fire Safety Code inspections over the past four years and have cleared up a number of code violations.
Byrne noted they even look at the ceilings, and this time they found that a couple of sprinkler heads were actually buried inside the ceiling tiles—a problem that the sprinkler company will be asked to correct.
Continuing education of staff members is also needed, Byrne said. Many teachers are enthusiastic about decorating their rooms, but some items are highly flammable. “We ask for those things to be removed,” he said.
Of equal or greater concern are the lithium-ion batteries that power so many devices used in modern education because over-heated batteries can break into flames. An estimated 80 devices are used in the school and need to be recharged frequently.
Teachers were asked to supervise charging, if possible, and not to leave devices charging overnight.
“Obviously, we don’t want any issue in the school, whether it’s occupied or unoccupied,” Byrne concluded. “I think we’re doing an okay job, but we can get better. We can always get better.”