Sprinkler needs evaluated in wake of school blaze

By Emily Richmond

Friday, July 8, 2005 | 11:11 a.m.

With local and federal fire investigators searching for the cause of Tuesday's blaze at Roy Martin Middle School, Clark County School District officials are evaluating 65 other campuses that are without complete fire sprinkler systems.

Of Clark County's 301 campuses, 14 lack any type of sprinklers and 51 have partial systems, said Paul Gerner, associate superintendent of facilities for the district.

All new buildings that have been added to the district since 1984 have sprinkler systems, Gerner said.

State statute requires fire protection in public buildings. The requirement for sprinklers varies by the age of the building, its square footage, number of stories and whether other safety measures have been taken.

Walt Rulffes, deputy superintendent of operations for the district, said he was considering sending letters to parents of students at schools without sprinklers to reassure them that their children were safe.

"All of our schools meet or exceed local and state safety codes as well as the requirements of the insurance industry and federal recommendations," Rulffes said. To the district, sprinklers are more about saving property after the primary goal of emptying a building of people has been met, Rulffes said.

"We aim to have everyone outside before the sprinklers even turn on," Rulffes said.

Tim Szymanski, spokesman for Las Vegas Fire & Rescue, said sprinklers can be lifesavers in high-density buildings such as apartment complexes, hotels and casinos.

"The job of the sprinklers is to keep the fire in check for those first key minutes until we can get there," Szymanski said. "In a place like a nursing home or hospital, where people might be moving a little more slowly or have trouble getting out, it's especially important."

The district's schools score well on the surprise inspections and evacuation drills that are conducted monthly by city fire officials, Szymanski said. Elementary schools must evacuate within 60 seconds, middle schools in 90 seconds and high schools within two minutes, Szymanski said.

"Let's say for some unknown reason the sprinklers fail -- we still want kids to be conditioned to get out of the building as quickly as possible," Szymanski said.

One question for fire investigators will be whether sprinklers inside the Martin gym would have minimized damage from the blaze, Szymanski said. School facilities officials have said they believe given the age of the mostly wooden structure, sprinklers would have had little effect.

In Washoe County, the state's second-largest school district, only about 40 percent of its 99 campuses are outfitted with sprinklers, said spokesman Steve Mulvenon. Those with sprinklers are new schools and older buildings that have been renovated, Mulvenon said.

With a backlog of nearly $840 million in renovation and repair projects, Clark County officials will be reevaluating whether sprinkler system additions should be given higher priority, Rulffes said.

Many of the buildings that are not fully outfitted with sprinklers are slated for rehabilitation or complete replacement. It may not be the best use of taxpayer dollars to add expensive sprinkler systems to a building scheduled to be torn down, Rulffes said.

Some of those decisions won't be made until the cause of the Martin gym fire is pinpointed, Rulffes said. Several possible theories have been floated by the district and law enforcement personnel, including that children playing with fireworks inside an adjoining locker room sparked the blaze. A swamp cooler used in the gym will also be examined, along with the school's heating and air conditioning system which the district planned to overhaul this year.

Rulffes said he was grateful firefighters had managed to keep the blaze from spreading much beyond the gym.

"Right now we're making sure every classroom is in perfect condition," Rulffes said.

The 2005-06 academic year begins Aug. 29, with 1,500 students expected at Martin.

Investigators offered few details at a press conference Wednesday except to say that Las Vegas Fire & Rescue would be working with officials from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The federal national response team is "the best of the best,". "We are very grateful for their assistance."

When asked how long it will take to determine the cause of the fire, Szymanski said "We're going to take as long as it needs. We could know tomorrow, we could know in two weeks."

With 25 investigators participating from the two agencies, the answer could come more quickly than it might otherwise, Szymanski said.

Federal investigators spent Thursday being briefed while the remains of the gym were shored up so that it could be safely inspected. Interviews with possible witnesses, including the five adults and five children participating in a summer aquatics program at the adjacent city pool, are also a priority, Szymanski said.

District officials have estimated the cost of rebuilding the campus gym at $6.5 million. Additional costs, including clean-up and replacing items damaged by smoke and water, are still being tallied.

A UNLV summer enrichment program that was supposed to begin at Martin Middle School next week has been moved to the nearby Chuck Minker Sports Complex at 275 North Mojave Road. The Center for Academic Enrichment and Outreach GEAR UP Summer Camp, serving about 120 middle school students, will begin Monday as originally planned.