School Officials Discuss Policy on Fire Sprinklers

New York State does not require existing school buildings to be retrofitted for sprinkler systems, according to the State Education Department.  It is that department, rather than local authorities, that regulates school policies on fire safety and prevention.     

While there are some schools on Long Island that do have sprinkler systems installed, those schools are part of a tiny minority.  That minority could grow in coming years, as public pressure is on legislators after fires in West Babylon and Riverhead schools that did not have sprinklers.    

Jim Saitta, director of school facilities in North Merrick, said that the district is updating its firefighting tools, but does not plan to implement sprinklers.

"...[W]e're updating all our detection devices in the way of smoke and heat sensors," Saitta said.  "But there is no sprinkler system.  No water is going to shoot out if a fire is detected."    

The updated system will alert a monitoring station if it detects a fire, and the station will call the fire department.

Christine Grucci, assistant superintendent for business and technology in the Merrick School District, said that her district did not have fire sprinklers but she had no further comment on the issue.

The Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District does not have fire sprinklers, either.     

"There are no sprinkler systems in any of the buildings," said Michelle Gagnon, administrative assistant for community relations and grants.  "But we are not required to have them because [the buildings] are steel and concrete."    

Gagnon said that the district uses the necessary tools to fight fire.  

"We would be in trouble if we didn't adhere to the requirements of the state," she said.    

According to the State Education Department, fire sprinklers are one tool that schools may use in meeting fire codes, but are not required. In addition to meeting building requirements, Section 807 of the State Education Law states that all schools in New York below the college level must conduct 12 fire drills per year, with eight of those drills being completed before December 1.

Retro-fitting older school buildings for fire sprinklers would be costly to districts, especially at a time when the state is making budget cuts and districts are also cutting down on spending. Sprinklers would require money in state aid that the state has made clear it does not have, a larger budget for the school district or a multi-million dollar bond referendum just as schools are trying to cut back on spending.

Saitta, of North Merrick, did not deny the usefulness of sprinklers, but, as the other districts have, said that money was the major issue.    

"Obviously the more that you do have, the better protection you will have," he said.  "To install a sprinkler system throughout an old building, the cost would be astronomical.  It's not really feasible at this point to do something like that."