Tara McLoughlin, Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 22nd, the Town of Saint Leo’s Fire Marshall, Kerry Barnett, followed up with his second fire inspection for the year.
Barnett, who is newly hired by the university, has been here since June of 2010. But his inspections did not start until late December of 2010. Barnett said that the town of Saint Leo hadn’t been inspected in about fifteen years. When asked if the new fire inspection policy had any correlation between the excessive damage in the apartments, he replied by saying that the fire inspections were a completely different matter.
“They had nothing to do with each other. Inspectors were originally only hired to inspect buildings that had just been built. When they got ready to build the business building they needed someone to look over the plans. This opened the door for all buildings on their township to be inspected,” said Barnett
During his first visit in December, he had started the policy of bringing a security guard along with him to each building and individual room.
“I bring security with me wherever I go so that this way nobody can come back and say that some personal effect is missing. I understand that I am invading someone’s personal space and I do not want to make it any more difficult than it already is,” said Barnett.
The inspection process covers areas including the common rooms, study rooms, and laundry rooms. Barnett is responsible for making sure that all emergency lights, exit signs, sprinklers, fire extinguishers, and fire alarms are functioning properly. The emergency exit signs and fire extinguishers are one of the most important parts of the inspection process. This is because students who are caught tampering with these items can be in a lot of trouble.
“If students tamper with exit signs and or fire extinguishers, I have the power to assess that charge to the state attorney. The student will then be prosecuted and charged with a felony as high as a misdemeanor,” said Barnett.
In the dorms, Barnett looks specifically for safety violations such as extension cords, non-protective multi-plug adapters, uncertified fire extinguishers, decorative lighting, and the use of candles. Smoke detectors and sprinklers also need to be checked as well. If they are covered or blocked in any way students will be instructed to remove the obstructions immediately.
Barnett had stressed that safety goes hand in hand with cleanliness.
“My job is to make sure the room is somewhat organized. But I have found that this can be a difficult task. Most people wouldn’t believe that I have been to many rooms where the door cannot be fully opened,” said Barnett.
He explains that the girls are in fact much worse than the boys. Although the boys may often use decorative lighting, it is the girls who cannot stay away from the big scented candles.
When the first inspection had taken place the students were told which items were in violation of fire safety. They were also offered safety alternatives as well. This time, however, Barnett’s goal was to follow up on the December inspections to make sure that students have done away with such items.
“Students were given 60 days to clear things out. If they did not do this by the time of the follow-up inspection they were singled out individually based on their room number. A report is then written, sent to maintenance, and given to the RA of the floor to make sure all violations are taken care of,” said Barnett.
On Tuesday, when he returned to the university to re-inspect the buildings and or dorm rooms he found that certain items were still not improved.
“There should be a door diagram on every student’s door. However, the school is still in the process of ordering them, said Barnett.
“I have also been seeing that the stairwell doors in many of the apartments have been held open. These doors are supposed to be closed at all times. If not the smoke and flame can produce a tunnel effect throughout the entire building.”
But regardless of this, he feels that the other areas have been improved since last semester. Although Barnett’s visit is over, for now, he still warns all students to be careful about how they assemble their living areas each year. This is because the school is billed by the town of Saint Leo every time he visits the school to make another re-inspection. He also wishes to thank both the students and faculty for being so cooperative during the entire inspection process.
