The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1908-03-05
ORDERS INQUIRY
INTO 90 SCHOOLS.

Frederick / :. Guild, president of the
roa ri If nd ucation., today requested
william p. on tourke, superintendent OF
a. p,ildine. | department., to cooperate
win the slL a visor of the repairs de-
nartment or n C Board of Education in
raakinp an il ii mediate examination OF
r. siy,v scI U,ols in this city, this,
,ritb n view u ascertaining whether
~. avi+e arc adequate to have the
ohildren leave the school quickly In
eaee of fire. and 10 make a thorough
examination of al I the buildings to in
SIRE that they are i'll proper condition
in every way.
Mr.. O'Rourke gle dly complied with
the request and sent several OF the m
spectors to coopera e with the men
from the repairs dep, trtment' Inc IN
spection was started tooay, ana MI.
Guild added that thu members Vi
the Board of Education would take IL
',non themselves to NAL ,e personal in
spection of the schools TO see thae
everything was in good shape
our schools, in my OPP nion. are alb
solutely safe. and a repe tltion OF the
cleveland public chool horror is prac-
tically an impossibility, llut TINS pre-
canton will be taken to reassure the
narents of the children that there Is
-
no danger. ~.
tIn the schools there are fire drills
twice or three times a week. and tne'
drills will be increased. but II would De
hard to bring them to q greater degree
of perfection.
an one school of fourteen hundred
children the children were on me street
in less than two minutes.
at is a commendable fact THAI most
OF the f%irehouses are near the schools
and the fire fighters could be at the
scene quickly. The schools are al
eouipped with proper fire apparatus
and the principals, teachers n lanl-
tors are we'll trained to handle a fire.
Six Kindergarten Rooms.
All of the kindergarten children are
located on the first floor. There are
six kindergarten rooms on the htse
f1oor and one = class, with ten teaoh-
ers. On the second floor there are nine
rooms, and on the third floor ten ro<sns,
and the same number of teachers.
The classes on the second thirh
floors use the same stairways as exits,
but the classes are divided into two
columns. The stairways are seven feet
wide.
Five exits are used regularly. and
another is used in emergency. Fire ex-
ti~nguishers are located in different
parts of the building.
There are large placards in each
room, on which are printed in RED
.Fire, Tel. 1926" which serve to re-
mind the teacher that in the event or
a fire to call "1S25," which is the mum
Der of fire headquarters.
A "fire calI' at the telephone ex-
change is answered promptly by giving
an emergency wire to fire head
quarters. A fie at the Seventh Avenue
School would be answered by four en-
gincs and two truck companies.
Investigation showed that the fire es-
capes or the Alexander Street School
are so fimsy that their use has heen
forbidden. This is the only school IN
the city that has fire escapes. The
other schools have been built with
wide exits and fire proof corridors.
The Newark public school depart
ment has instituted frequent fire drills.
The principals have an emergency drin
once 81 week. but the records at the
Board of Education in the City Hall
show that there is hardly a month
when all the schools report that four
fire drills have been given.
Lax Discipline blamed.
Despite the conditions, DIR. A. B. Pc
land, superintendent of the schools,
declared today that it was an impossi-
biIfty for a holocaust, such as occurred
at Collinwood to be repeated here, as
the children are well drilled, and in
even the largest schools the children
can cav in a short time. DR.. Poland
maintains hat the Ohio fire was the
result of a lack of discipline.