Chem lab fire destroys N.C. high school

[NFS4]

DOH! :Q

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4305963.html
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061102/APN/611021438

GIBSONVILLE, N.C. | Students at Eastern Guilford High School likely would have returned to class Thursday if the buildings destroyed by fire the previous day had a sprinkler system, an emergency official said.

Instead, a fire that began in a chemistry lab destroyed the school, leaving more than 1,000 students without a school building for the rest of the year.

"Typically with a fire in the room, similar to a classroom, you'll have a fire in its incipient, early state, one to five sprinklers activated," Alan Perdue, director of Guilford County Emergency Services, said Thursday. "Typically that damage can be cleaned up fairly quickly and normally be back in school the next day."

The school was not required to have sprinklers when it was built in 1974.

"As we know from today's code and how effective sprinklers are, they do make a difference," Perdue said.

Three firefighters were treated and released for injuries including overexertion, smoke and heat-related problems, cuts and debris in the eyes, Perdue said Thursday.

A teacher spotted the fire around 2 p.m. Wednesday and tried to put it out with an extinguisher, but then pulled the alarm. The school, which has 1,060 students, was evacuated, with students, teachers and other employees going to a nearby church.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

The building was a total loss, said Mike Wright, deputy director of operations for Guilford County EMS.

"Those kids will not go back to school there this year, there's no question," said Guilford County schools Superintendent Terry Grier, who met Wednesday night with school officials to decide what to do. "Our primary goal is to try to keep the classes together as much as we can."

School administrators discussed have not decided where the students will go for the rest of the year. Classes were canceled for Thursday and Friday.

Perdue said the biggest issue as of Thursday morning was getting the faculty and students to get their cars so they can close the site to the public.

"It's very dangerous for people to be wandering around and we want to secure that," he said.

The school board planned to hold an emergency meeting Friday.

"I just don't know what we are going to do about school or football," said Brandon Pride, 17. "I wonder if we've lost our transcripts and what this is going to mean for the rest of the year and college."

Gibsonville, 15 miles east of Greensboro, has about 4,600 residents.

The Guilford County school district is the third largest in the state, with 116 schools, including about two dozen other high schools.

That's a damn shame

 

[thirdeye]

That's unreal.

 

[silverpig]

Tent-city?

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: silverpig
Tent-city?

They're supposed to be having an emergency school board meeting today to discuss what to do.

But still, 1,000 kids dispersed into already crowded schools is going to be a biatch.

 

[waggy]

****** that sucks.

 

[Goosemaster]

heads need to roll.


counterclockwise.

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: Goosemaster
heads need to roll.


counterclockwise.

True, but how hard is it to implement a sprinkler system into a 30 year old building?

 

[iroast]

No fire extinguishers in each classroom?

 

[DrPizza]

No sprinkler system in my high school; it's only about 10 years old.

What was that school constructed from that it was a total loss?? Aren't most schools primarily cement block construction?

 

[Ika]

That sucks. Our school gets monthly visits from the fire marshal, though, so no worries.

 

[DrPizza]

At my school, we just got in trouble for having classroom doors opened with door stops. It's a fire code violation. The *ONLY* approved way that a classroom door (which exits to a hallway) may ever be held open, is for a person to be physically holding the door open, or for the door to be connected to one of those magnetic door stops that automatically releases when a fire alarm goes off. This is the first time we've heard of an inspector being that picky.

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
At my school, we just got in trouble for having classroom doors opened with door stops. It's a fire code violation. The *ONLY* approved way that a classroom door (which exits to a hallway) may ever be held open, is for a person to be physically holding the door open, or for the door to be connected to one of those magnetic door stops that automatically releases when a fire alarm goes off. This is the first time we've heard of an inspector being that picky.

Same was happening when I was in HS. Teachers were told that they weren't allowed to prop the doors open. Also, my school didn't have sprinklers, but the building was 55 years old, and even the new construction that was under 2 years old didn't have sprinklers. Just fire extinguishers/fire blankets in labs.

Edit: This was in NY

 

[OrganizedChaos]

i didn't think schools could really burn. all mine were made out of concrete, steel, and cinder blocks.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: OrganizedChaos
i didn't think schools could really burn. all mine were made out of concrete, steel, and cinder blocks.

That's why I'm wondering what that NC school was built from.

 

[CarlKillerMiller]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
No sprinkler system in my high school; it's only about 10 years old.

What was that school constructed from that it was a total loss?? Aren't most schools primarily cement block construction?

The school was primarily made of stacks of rags soaked in gasoline. A groundskeeper was in charge of adding additional gasoline every 2 hours. This did, however, create a 30 minute "safe zone" in which a fire had a much smaller chance of burning the school down. The school board was to meet next month to rectify the problem.

 

[dartworth]

Originally posted by: NFS4

Originally posted by: Goosemaster
heads need to roll.


counterclockwise.

True, but how hard is it to implement a sprinkler system into a 30 year old building?

not hard, but costly...

<-- installs fire protection systems...

 

[Shawn]

That's crazy. My HS was that old, and not only did we have sprinklers, but we had the magnetic doors which would automatically close during a fire.

 

[Xstatic1]

uh oh, i think u may have just given some students (the ones who don't like school, *cough*) some ideas, right? well... maybe now something will be done to get all of the schools equipped with sprinkler systems.

 

[Gooberlx2]

The school was not required to have sprinklers when it was built in 1974.

Perhaps not, but I thought that certain updated safety codes were required in public buildings regardless, and would require a building to be retro-fitted if needed. Is that not the case? Did they never have fire inspections?

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: Shawn
That's crazy. My HS was that old, and not only did we have sprinklers, but we had the magnetic doors which would automatically close during a fire.

That's the difference between good and poor planning.

 

[TheGizmo]

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf

Originally posted by: Shawn
That's crazy. My HS was that old, and not only did we have sprinklers, but we had the magnetic doors which would automatically close during a fire.

That's the difference between good and poor planning.

its also the difference between a low and high budget

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: TheGizmo

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf

Originally posted by: Shawn
That's crazy. My HS was that old, and not only did we have sprinklers, but we had the magnetic doors which would automatically close during a fire.

That's the difference between good and poor planning.

its also the difference between a low and high budget

It's simply not cost effective. The purpose of sprinklers should really be to slow the spread of the fire, allowing everyone ample time to leave the building.

Why not apply the sprinkler idea to houses... Think of all the houses in the US that wouldn't burn down every year, if only they had sprinkler systems in them.

Let's take NY state for an example. The cost of retrofitting every school building with sprinklers would be greater than the cost to build a few dozen new schools.

 

[dartworth]

Originally posted by: DrPizza



It's simply not cost effective. The purpose of sprinklers should really be to slow the spread of the fire, allowing everyone ample time to leave the building.

Why not apply the sprinkler idea to houses... Think of all the houses in the US that wouldn't burn down every year, if only they had sprinkler systems in them.

Let's take NY state for an example. The cost of retrofitting every school building with sprinklers would be greater than the cost to build a few dozen new schools.

It wouldn't cost that much to install a fire protection system into a house, especially a new home that is being built. I have even thought of installing a few heads in my own house in the stairwells and over all the exits. However, insurance companys will often raise rates due to people accidently setting off sprinkler heads which cause an tremendous amount of water damage...

 

[DrPizza]

Wow, I'd have expected lower rates if I had a system in my house.

How much would it cost to install them in a home?

 

[dartworth]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Wow, I'd have expected lower rates if I had a system in my house.

How much would it cost to install them in a home?

The cost of the material and parts for a house around 2000-3000 sq ft would be under $1500...probably closer to $1K