On March 4, 1908, A fire swept though the Lakeview Elementary School in Collinwood, Ohio. At 9:30 AM the 366 children were just settling in and in less than 30 minutes 172 students and 2 teachers would be dead.

The cause of the fire was a dry wooden joist in the cellar in contact with an overhead steam pipe.  The fire roared up the main stairway consuming everything in its path.

The volunteer firefighters lacked training and equipment to fight a fire in a 3 story building.

Almost 200 students managed to escape but the rest were trapped inside the first two sets of exit doors on the first floor (the only way out of the school). The panicked children pushed against the first set of doors that opened inward and were jammed against them by other children pushing them against the doors.  Some of them were charred beyond recognition.

 

Because of this;

Exit drills are required in public schools,

Stricter school construction codes,

More mandatory school inspections,

Installed fire protections, alarms, and first-aid firefighting equipment.

 

Yet on March 18th 1937 The New London School explodes killing 294 Children.

And on December 1st, 1958 Our Lady of Angels school fire kills 92 children and 3 teachers.

And its due to happen again.

 

Something else to think about:

Churches are not required mandatory inspections or regulated by the government codes other than the codes that apply at time of construction. Therefore due to the age of some churches there were no requirements at time of construction and they are grand-fathered in.  Most of the redecorating of Sunday-school class rooms, where large numbers of children may be, are done by the members of the church with no thought to fire prevention or escape. Usually built the cheapest way possible. If they only knew.......

Be sure to look over your church and see if it's safe. Make sure there are more than one way out of anywhere, and the doors all open out.

 

                                        Joe    @}--}-----