FIRE-SAFETY CONCERNS FOUND AT HAMBURG SCHOOL

NEW HAMBURG -- Concerned about overcrowding and shocked by a lack of state regulation, one Scott County parent is trying to light a fire under the Kelso C-7 District School Board about fire safety in the New Hamburg elementary school.

Robert Mothershead, a former school board member, said he is worried about the safety of his son, a fifth-grader at New Hamburg, after receiving a copy of a state fire marshal's inspection of the school. The report listed 14 areas where the building could be improved to provide better fire protection.

Mothershead contacted the fire marshal in October and requested an inspection of the school. Missouri does not have a fire code that regulates public schools, and the fire marshal doesn't have the power to regulate them. Therefore, he was restricted to providing a courtesy inspection. The report offers suggestions instead of listing violations.

"At the beginning of the school year I became aware of an overcrowding situation in the classroom that my son is in," Mothershead said. "I got to kind of looking at all the circumstances around it and felt there was a safety issue on it."

According to the inspection, the New Hamburg K-8 elementary school needs to install a full-coverage alarm system complete with smoke detectors, heat detectors and manual pull stations. Exit doors at the school were not adequately lit with battery backup or emergency lights. Hood suppressors should be installed over the kitchen's two commercial stoves. Doors and wall panels throughout the school need to be updated to better contain a fire. A hallway leading to a fire escape on the third floor was congested with stored items making it difficult for students to get through.

School Superintendent Rick Chastain said the school, which has 173 students, has been working to clear up some of the problems since the inspection was completed.

"They made me more aware of some things," Chastain said. "We always take to heart the things people suggest. This is something that the building has needed for decades in my estimation."

A couple of the suggested areas have been corrected, school board chairperson Dorothy Dirnberger said. Smoke detectors that had been placed too low on the wall were raised. The hallway to the fire escape was worked on as well.

At the next board meeting Jan. 9, three fire alarm services will be presenting their systems to the board.

"The bids vary from probably $2,500 all the way up to $7,000," Dirnberger said. "We just need to meet with people from the companies and decide exactly what the school needs.

"We would have to add this on to the budget. We'd like to do it this year before the school year ends."

Some of the lighting problems would be taken care of by the alarm system, Dirnberger said.

Chastain said he doesn't see a big problem in correcting all the suggested areas.

Assistant State Fire Marshal Randy L. Cole said his department does about 12 courtesy inspections every year.

"We view this as a concern," Cole said. "We've approached the school system about backing us in trying to get a fire code adopted. We feel like, why should we wait until a disaster happens and lives are lost before we adopt a fire code?"

Cole said many school districts can't afford the added burden of meeting the standards of a state code while trying to maintain basic educational needs.

"This is an area where our kids spend eight hours a day, and there's no legislation regulating the safety of the facilities they are in," he said. "Mainly what we tell schools is to keep exit paths clear of items. One problem we saw specifically with the New Hamburg inspection was overcrowding."

Mothershead said he is frustrated by the lack of state regulation over a facility that houses nearly 175 children. He said he doesn't like having to rely solely on the Kelso school board to straighten things out.

"We have the shortcomings identified and we have the funds available to rectify it, but we're not getting any action," he said. "Kelso C-7 New Hamburg school building is not a unique situation. I have considered pulling my son from the school because I truly fear for his safety if there was a fire."