Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-04-12
THIS SCHOOL UNSAFE
Johnson Annex Scored by
Fire Chief Belt.
COMMISSIONERS INFORMED
Four Other Schools Now Have
Wooden Stairways.
CONDITIONS OF DANGER
Steps Taken at Once to Remedy
Conditions Complained of-other =
Schools Inspected.

In a report to the Commissioners yeSter-
| day of inspections made by him Of fourteen
public schools in the city with reference
to their fire protection. Chief Belt of the
| local fire department says that the John
son annex. at School and Lamont streets
northwest is not suitable for school pur-
poses.
| He insists that fire protection improve
ments should be made without delay or
use of the building discontinued
| The Commissioners Immediately in
| formed Secretary Hne of the board of
education of Chief Belts findings and
suggestions, and stated they do not con-
slider that they have authority to author
| ize the board of education to continue
| the use of this building until it is replaced
| by fireproof structure. The Commits
sioners think the school should be
abandoned.
Old-Time Structure.
| The Johnson annex is a thirty eight
year-old two-story four-room frame struc-
/ ture with two rooms on the first floor
| and two on the ground. According to
Chief Belt the building is provided with
two wooden platform starways. each
only three feet six inches wide. and two
1
two feet six inches wide. The two rooms
on the first floor are not used, school SEES
sions being. held in the two upstairs
| rooms. More than 100 pupils attend the
school. The building is heated by stoves.
and all the schoolroom doors open inward
Chief Belt considers the stairways
highly dangerous. He thinks no school
children in the city proper should be
| housed in frame buildings, and the fact
that small kindergarten children are
taught in one of the rooms on the second
floor only adds, he says, to- the danger in
the event of fire or panic. He calls at
tent:on to the fact that this old an
tiquated frame structure is in close
proximity to the johnson School proper.
and that should a fire occur under cerS
tain conditions the latter building woul0
be greatly damaged, if not entirely de-
Stroyed.
building should be continued for school
purposes, that the rooms on the second
floor should be abandoned; that several
Wir dows on the first floor should be cut
down to the floor level, and that plat
form, be provided from the windows to the
ground that the doors in the rooms
should be made to open outward; that
one three-gallon fire eNtinguisher be
placed in each room. and that sand boxes
four inches high be placed beneath each
Of the stoves in the SchoolrOomS.
Other Schools Visited.
The other schools visited by Chief Belt
during the past ten days were the Emery,
lexington, Hayes, Maury. Edmonds.
Lovejoy Pierce. Webb, Wheatley. Blow.
Logan, Hamilton, Blair and Madison. His
report says:
-Four of these schools-the Madison,
Blair Hamilton and Logan, We're found
to be provided with wooden StalrWayS
In certain of these schools the space un-
der these wooden starwayS has been
partitioned off and used for storage pur-
poses in some instances for the accom-
mediation of wood and other fuel. 1t was
found that the ceilings of these spaces
were not protected in any manner and
that the joists and flooring of the stairs
were exposed. These are regarded as
danger points and it has been lrecom-
mended that these wooden StarWays be
stairs.
In a letter to the board of education
the Commissioners said:
Under the conditions existing in these
fou:. schools. if the wooden StdlrWayS
are not torn out. the necessary fire es-
capes should be placed on the buildings
in order to afford escape for the pupils
and teachers in event of fire. This rec
on.,Eendaton is made Notwithstanding
the fact that the buildings are but two
stories in height.
"All wood. furniture and other intiam-
mable material should be at once removed
from under these Stairways and the space
not used for storage purposes"
Chief Belt Not Through.
The Commissioners also notified the
board that Chief Belt is now engaged in
inspecting the Threlkeld, Garfield. High
Street, Eurrville, Benning (white). Cook,
Mott Birney Annex and the Hillsdale
School buildings, that the CHIEF engineer
is examining all the public school build
ings with respect to fire protection and
that those mentioned will be reported
upon at early day. Also that there
is no suspension of the inspection OF SAM
tary condition of the school buildings by
the health department, ordered by the Com
misSiOners. except that which was made
necessary by the temporary withdrawal
of DR.. f. l.. Lynch who was making the
examinations, caused by a ruling in the
Police Court that required him, for the
time being at least. chemist of the
health department., TO personally give teS-
timony in all cases against milk dealers
whose milk had been found deficient by
the chemical analysis of the health de-
partment and that the investigation OF
the sanitary condition of school buildings
will be resumed as soon as possible.