Bare halls at local schools
Published on October 15th, 2003
STONAHEM, MA - At the order of Building Inspector Gene Argiro and new State Building Code specifications, school officials have removed all flammable materials in the corridors and classrooms of Stoneham schools.
With school officials complying with the order last spring, the walls of Stoneham's schools are now barren, and all artwork, signs, posters, and banners are prohibited from being displayed.
And although Argiro can understand the negative impacts on the school's educational atmosphere, he claims that the recent fatal nightclub fire in Rhode Island has forced him to recognize a building code regulation long ignored across the Commonwealth.
"Right now, the code is zero tolerance. You can't have anything either in the classrooms or in the corridors...It's always been part of the code and statewide it hasn't been enforced. I agree that over the years it's been nice for the kids to display their wares so to speak, but that's been with no consideration for fire safety," Argiro said of his decision.
According to Argiro, while the presence of flammable materials in a supervised classroom might not warrant such a drastic measure, hanging artwork and posters strung along a school's corridors presents a considerable danger. Either way, he says, his job responsibilities can not allow him to make exceptions.
"If you're in any one of the rooms other than a means of egress and a fire starts, where's the first place you're going to go? And if the fire originates from the hallway, there's going to be a lot of trouble. Even if there's not a fire, the smoke's going to get you and paper really gives off a lot of smoke," explained Argiro.
"It's difficult for people to understand why things can't be up because it's been done for so long. I understand where they're coming from, but I can't tell them to keep it up because I don't have that authority," he further remarked.
While Assistant Superintendent Joe Casey admits that the order has impacted the ability to communicate with students, he remained confident the school system would find alternative means to close the gap.
"It's something we really have to translate into morning announcements or teacher announcements...We know [Gene] has the best interests of our students and staff at heart, and we're going to continue to work with him," said Casey.
According to Bob Lague, the school system's program supervisor of fine arts, Argiro's mandate has eliminated a pivotal factor in art education, the ability to display a student's artwork.
"I think it's a knee-jerk reaction to the Rhode Island fire and we don't have the same flammable materials on our walls and we're certainly not setting off fireworks...One of the things students have to do when they finish a project is display their artwork. [Not being able to do that] is like having an audio tape of music you created and having no earphones," Lague commented.
Although the state's Building Code currently prohibits any flammable materials from a school's corridors or classrooms, Argiro believes that a task force created to assess the state's fire prevention code will loosen the restrictions.
While Argiro couldn't guarantee the changes would be instituted anytime soon, he believes the new regulations will allow as much as 30 percent of a classroom's walls to be covered in schools with sprinkler systems. For schools without sprinkler systems, such as the town's high school and middle school, 10-20 percent of a classroom's walls will be allowed to be covered.
"I'm speculating that in the corridors nothing will be allowed unless its under a glass case with a metal frame and that in classrooms it could be up to 30 percent if there's a sprinkler system...We may see those changes in the Building Code this year, we may not...I can't really say," said Argiro.
However, according to Stoneham Fire Captain Jim McLaughlin, those regulations have already been endorsed by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), allowing as much as 50 percent coverage in classrooms with sprinklers and 10 percent coverage for corridors.
"The regulations changed this past July and then it changed again on September 19. The big determining factor is whether the schools have a sprinkler system or not. And even if a school doesn't, it isn't that big of a deal because they're allowed 20 percent coverage," McLaughlin reported.
Yet, according to Argiro, the changes to the Fire Department's standards has no impact on his decision because the NFPA regulations will not change the state's Building Code. Furthermore, Argiro claims the difference between the two safety office guidelines stems from a nationwide battle between fire and building departments over the authority to enforce fire prevention laws.
"Those are the NFPA changes. The building inspector goes by the building code. There's a nationwide struggle going on right now between fire departments and building departments over who interprets the building code. The only thing the fire department regulates now is flame spread on furniture," said Argiro.
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