Charlevoix county herald., 1914-04-04
MANY SCHOOLS
ARE FIRE TRAPS
State Superintendent of Public
Instruction F. L. Keeler Gives
Recommendation For
Safety.

hlClllRdn are dangerous liC udpS anu
that most school children, under
present conditions, owe their lives al
most entirely to chance and to the fact
that the majority of school fires occur
when school is not in session. State
Superintendent of Public Instruction
+. l.. Keller today made public a set of
recommendations which he will urge
be followed by the school authorities
al over the state. Keeler made it en-
phaticaliy plain that his remarks were
in no way intended to alarm parents
but he urged the necessity Of tax no
immediate steps to remedy conditions.
Here are Keeler's recommendations
No new school building should be
erected more thsn two stories in height
with three stories as the absolute limit.
Plans for new buildings should call
for fire proof construction by an ar
chitect who knows what fire proof
means.
Each floor in large schools should be
constructed with fire proof partitions,
so arranged that each section may be
completely shut off from every other
section.
Heating plants should be separated
f. -. ,lie ...,,.,''. IA" -, h"ilding by
Assembly should be located son cSl
ground floor.
Attics should be cut by at least one
partition to prevent draughts.
The stairs should be located at OPP
posite ends of the building and lead
directly to the exits.
Falls should be widey4 light and ab-
sohtely freefrom obstru ,tions.
Outer doors should be furnished
with panic bolts" which can be open
ed from the inside by light pressure.
Automatic sprinkers should be To-
Gated in store and fuel rooms.
"But for the fact that fire ills are
compulsory in this state and the child
rem are required TO march from tie
buildings at least once each month ard
as result have learded to reach safety
in the shortest time possible, there
might be great loss of life at school
fires every year in Michigan" said
superintendent Keeler. at is true
that under present conditions of build
ing and housekeeping oul little children
fGowe Their lives almost entii ely to
chance. There are hundreds of build
ings, not modern, which nave been
a 60, ~,
which school is being held daily which
are dangerous fire traps. These old
buildings are sometimes three and four
stories in height and while the fire
drill might save many Of the pupils,
those on the upper floors undu uubtedly
would have great difficulty in escaping
in case Of disastrous fire.
The lives of thousands OF our boys
and girls attending the public school,
may hang upon the chance of whether
or not the janitor of the building is a
good housekeeper. Bad housekeeping
is responsible for many school fires. II
a ianitor uses cleaning fluid for brass
work or other school fixtures which
has a benzine foundation and after
wards puts his cleaning rags in closet
which is fairly near steam pipe or Is
lighted by electricity, or if he keeps
kerosine or gasoline in that closeta fire
may start any moment. If there is 8
box of matches where mouse can get
ga it that mouse by gnawing on match
end may start a conflagration which
will cost the lives OF hundreds o.
children.
"Celluloid is used in a great many
schools as protection for maps anC
charts instead of more, fragile glass
Celluloid is, of course, highly inflam
mable. 1t may start fire at any time
Faulty electric wiring, an overheated
furnace, any one of these things, little
n IA themselves, may set fire raging ir
school building of fire tap kind.
1T is typical OF all human nature tt
disregard little things and the schoo
janitor Is no exception. Like Alice in
Wonderland he is very apt to wan
'one room for order and another e
keep things in. he imagines that gooC
ianitor service consistsih keeping thC
flcaE and halls swept, but the room h'
keeps things in is really the most i'm
portant of all. II is that room whicf
may kinde fire which will desolate ;
hundred homes. Many fires originate
in the school cellar where waste papel
old furniture, ashes and coal ere ofteT
heaped together close beneath wooder
floor beams-just waiting for a chance
match, F"