Tragic hotel fire leads to four student deaths; nearby extinguisher was inoperable

This is hard to write because it is so awful and tragic. Four young women died in a hotel fire. The alleged person responsible tried to use a fire extinguisher on it but said, "it malfunctioned" and "didn't work."

Extinguishers, by code are supposed to be inspected every 30 days. But this story raises many questions. Were regular inspections done? What was the nature of the malfunction? We do know that with electronic monitoring you get 24/7 coverage and will be alerted immediately if an extinguisher is removed, depressurized or blocked from access. This gives peace of mind that extinguishers are where they should be and pressurized.

We're sure much more will be written about this horrible tragedy. In the short term every commercial and public building should be reviewing their fire safety policies and their extinguisher inspections. Perhaps by doing so, future loss of life can be prevented and these girls' tragic deaths will not have been totally in vain.


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