Fire Extinguisher Vandalism

This is the type of story that we run across all too often at en-Gauge.  Some pranksters at Western Washington University have taken to pulling fire alarms in the middle of the night.  And to make things worse, there have been several instances where fire extinguishers have gone missing or have been discharged during the same time period.  These types of actions when found in combination can increase the likelihood of a tragedy occuring in the event of an actual emergency.

According to the Western Front, the school newspaper:

Chief of the Bellingham Fire Department Bill Boyd said pulling a fire alarm when there isn’t a fire is similar to the “crying wolf” analogy.

“Repeat false fire alarms in the same location can lull occupants into a false sense of security,” Boyd said.

He said he realizes false fire alarms are occasional, but is still aware of the danger they can cause.

“Most of our false fire alarm responses are due to malfunctioning smoke and heat detectors or properly operating detectors that were tripped inadvertently due to construction dust or burned food,” he said. “It does have an impact on our response readiness and ability to quickly respond to emergencies when the dispatched engine company is tied up on the alarm investigation.”

In addition to the impact this has on the students and the fire authorities, in the event of an actual fire, missing or empty fire extinguishers can lead to a rapidly escalating emergency.  As we've mentioned in the past, fire extinguishers put out an estimated 5 Million plus fires in the U.S. in 2010, and is most often the first line of fire defense for residents.  en-Gauge fire extinguisher monitoring technology ensures that fire extinguishers on campus are in place, pressurized and accessible, while at the same time dramatically decreasing or eliminating the instances of costly fire extinguisher vandalism.  To learn more about why monitored fire extinguishers are a vital piece of the fire safety program at every campus, watch this short presentation:  4 Reasons it is an Emergency when a Fire Extinguisher is Pulled on Campus.

Virtually every day, stories about vandalism in schools appear in the press, all with one consistent theme.  The vandals and criminals discharge fire extinguishers in the facilities causing substantial damage, evacuations, school closings and costly cleanup charges.  Here are some stories about schools that have been subjected to fire extinguisher vandalism in just the past few weeks.

Fire Extinguisher Vandalism Rates Increase at St. Boneventure University

According to a recent article in the school newspaper, The Bona Venture, Fire Extinguisher vandalism and misuse rates have increased dramatically campus wide in the last several weeks.  Misuse of this vital fire safety equipment has resulted in mass student evacuation from buildings and residence halls and costly cleanup projects. As Ralph Aloia, the deputy director of safety and security for the university points out:

"The cost of a fire extinguisher itself is around $70; however, the cost to the community could be their safety, welfare and health," Aloia said. "When extinguishers are taken from their intended area and discharged, the potential cost of personal-property damage and life safety from fires to others is a huge issue."

"It is only a matter of time when a fire happens again," he said. "The history of the university speaks volumes about fires here. The community needs to come together about disregarding each others' safety. How would one actually feel if they knew their actions led to someone getting severely hurt?"

We couldn't agree with Mr. Aloia more.  Fire extinguishers extinguished approximately 5.32 million fires in the US last year, and ensuring that these vital pieces of life safety equipment are where they are supposed to be, available, accessible and functioning properly is what en-Gauge was founded to accomplish.

Vermont School Vandalized for the Third Time This Year

A tiny Vermont school district has been burglarized and vandalized three times so far this academic year.  As Vermont TV station WPTZ.com reports:

Vermont State Police are investigating a burglary at the Twinfield Union School early this morning, the third break-in in the tiny district this academic year.

Superintendent Nancy Thomas said a damage estimate was not yet available but she said there was broken glass, fire extinguisher residue all over and office equipment was stolen.

The 440-student K through 12 school was closed Monday for cleanup but will reopen on Tuesday.

As a community, when a school is forced to close for a day due to fire extinguisher vandalism, what is the economic impact?  How many parents need to take a day off from work?  How much lost productivity does this result in?  The cost is a lot higher than a custodian's time to thoroughly clean a building.

Vandals Trash Special Needs School, Discharge Extinguishers

In a sad story, vandals in California broke into a special needs school and caused significant damage to the Richard Henry Dana Exceptional Needs Facility and the elementary school next door.  In each instance, there was significant damage to the facility and the locations were coated with residue from discharged extinguishers.  Watch this segment from KABC in Los Angeles to see the damage.

As you can see in the video, the police investigators don't hold out much hope that the criminals will be caught.  Another benefit of electronically monitoring fire extinguishers is that alarms can be triggered when an extinguisher is pulled, resulting in a rapid response to situations like this.

Oklahoma City School Vandalized, Thousands in Damages

According to KFOR, Channel 4 in Oklahoma City:

A metro elementary school was targeted by vandals over the weekend. Officials say the vandals caused thousands of dollars in damage and it's not the first time this school has been hit recently.

Principal Phillip Cunningham said, "Everything was on the floor, fire extinguishers discharged, a lot of equipment broken and damaged."

These types of stories are all too common.  With budgets tight and school boards struggling to stretch every dollar, losing days to cleanup or fire damage is unacceptable.  To learn more about how to ensure your school is protected with electronically monitored fire extinguishers, contact en-Gauge today.

Unfortunately, the desire for fun and games has trumped the memory of a deadly fire at Nebraska Weslyan campus.  4 short years after a 19 year old student was killed in a fraternity fire at Weslyan, fire safety has taken a back seat to good times.  Acoording to the Lincoln Journal Star:

Fire Inspector Rick Campos made a surprise visit to Theta Chi, a fraternity on the other side of campus.

He found all of the house's smoke detectors blocked by commercial-grade covers.

The covers were the same kind construction crews use to keep out dust. But the fraternity brothers weren't doing contract work, Campos says, they were smoking inside and didn't want to get caught.

Although the fraternities may consider the fire inspectors to be the bane of their existence, this type of inspection is vital to ensuring the safety of students.  While the school and nearly University of Nebraska at Lincoln have been working to improve fire safety and student education, it is clear just how difficult the challenge is.

At UNL's Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house, a student discharged a fire extinguisher in December when there wasn't a fire. The student is set to appear in court this week.

Earlier in the semester, someone set off fireworks in the house. No one was cited, but a similar incident in Iowa recently resulted in felony charges, Campos said.

At another UNL fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, someone set a chair on fire in a second-floor hallway at 5 a.m. on a Monday, when the house was filled with students. 

Fire extinguisher vandalism is an epidemic on college campuses, and when you hear about stunts like this, having the first line of fire defense unavailable due to someone goofing around is inexcusable.  In addition to the invaluable job that fire inspectors perform, having the fire extinguishers on campus monitored electronically for removal, blockage or lack of pressure will dramatically cut down on expenses associated with vandalism and improve the safety of students.

To Learn More, Watch the Presentation - 4 Reasons It is an Emergency when a Fire Extinguisher is Pulled on Campus!

Vandals continue to do thousands of dollars of damage and interrupt business and community activities by carelessly using fire extinguishers in acts of vandalism.  We continue to be amazed a how many articles come across our desk describing the damage and disruption caused by these acts of fire extinguisher vandalism.  Here are just a handful of the examples from the last few weeks.

Michigan Church Close For Over A Week Due to Fire Extinguisher Vandalism

The Eureka Christian Church in Clinton County Michigan was extensively vandalized by intruders that took delight in having a fire extinguisher fight with multiple dry chemical fire extinguishers.  According to WILX.com:

Volunteers showed up at Eureka Christian Church to help clean up, but were shocked to find more damage than they could handle. Some people snuck into the church gym and had a ball blasting three fire extinguishers.

"It's everywhere. It's on the tables, on the chairs, on the lights, and on the floor. It's just filth," said Eureka Christian Church member Karry Shears of the extinguisher residue.

"When I walked in and saw the damage my heart fell to the ground," said 43-year church member Todd Colley.

...Their insurance company estimates the job will take at least two weeks to clean, but has not determined how much the damage will cost.

The residue for the fire extinguishers is still thick in the air 3 days after the incident and has covered nearly every surface.

A long term concern the church may need to address is that the dry chemicals from extinguishers is corrosive to electronics and extremely difficult to remove from the delicate instrumentation.  The best way to discourage fire extinguisher vandalism is to know when it is taking place by using a fire extinguisher monitoring solution like that provided by en-Gauge.

Vandals Coat Spokane, WA School Gyms with Fire Extinguishers

In an all to familiar story, vandals broke into a school overnight and the staff came in to find a huge mess and a major disruption to business as ususal.

This photo from KREM.com gives an indication of just how much area a vandal can impact by discharging just a single fire extinguisher.

Former Hewlett-Packard Building Vandalized with Fire Extinguishers

In Greeley, Colorado police arrested 3 teenaged boys involved in a truly expensive act of vandalism.  According to The Greeley Tribune:

Three 16-year-old boys were arrested by Greeley police after they were found inside the old Hewlett-Packard building in west Greeley, where they were accused of causing up to $100,000 in damage.

Greeley police spokesman Sgt. Joe Tymkowych said police received a call from a watchman at the plant, in the 900 block of 71st Avenue, at about 11 a.m. Thursday. The caller said he saw three boys setting off fire extinguishers inside the building.

Police arrived minutes later and found the three boys hiding on the roof of the building.

Based on the feedback from the community regarding this story on the Tribune website, passions are running high about the amount of damage and the need to make an example of these vandals.

$10,000 of damage to Eureka, MO High School Pool due to Fire Exinguisher Vandalism

Why is it that schools get hit so hard by vandals that think it is funny to discharge these vital life safety devices as a prank.  With the vandals caught in this situation and a $10K price tag plus criminal charges pending, they probably no longer think it was a very clever idea.  According to the Eureka-Wildwood Patch:

Damage to the school's pool was deemed "extensive," and estimated to cost  more than $10,000.

Wiegand said the police report filed by Eureka police and school resource officer Michael Smith indicated the incident was reported by Eureka's athletic director Jason Green.

"(Green's) statements outlined that he found chemicals floating in the pool from fire extinguishers being sprayed there, and on the equipment of the school's aquatic sports department, which rendered the pool and items unoperable," Wiegand said.

....Monday night, Eureka High School physical education teacher and swim coach Sharon Wasson said the pool underwent extensive cleaning, but that the swimmers were happy to have it return to operational. St. Louis-based catastrophe and restoration company CATCO, handled the cleaning project.  She said they did a phenomenal job with the situation.

 

Don't be taken by surprise by vandals.  Start monitoring your fire extinguisher 24/7/365 with the en-Gauge electronic fire extinguisher monitoring system and be sure that your first line of defense against fires is where is needs to be, accessible and ready for proper use.