March 28, 2008

When is the last time your school had a fire inspection? Poynter’s Al Tompkins writes in Al’s Morning Meeting about a TV station that found schools had not had fire inspections in years. Do some investigative reporting and find the records for your state — they’re probably online — and see if your school is safe. Compare your school’s safety with others.

KNXV-TV in Pheonix found
that in one school district, not one school has undergone a fire
inspection in seven years; and in one county, 70 schools — out of 200
— have not been inspected in two years or longer.

The safety problems the station noted are not small:

We observed violation after violation — emergency exits blocked by huge
rolls of carpeting, obstructed fire extinguishers, an extension cord
extending through a wall, gas shut-offs not labeled in science labs,
and inaccessible fire risers.

In
its online reporting, the station offers extended interviews. A
database at the end of the story allows users to type in the name of
their [Arizona] school and see when it was last inspected.
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Kelli Polson is an intern at Poynter and works on Poynter High, the web site for high school journalists to receive story ideas and tips…
Kelli Polson

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