New Hampshire Firefighters Stationed at Schools

Firefighters have been posted at two New Ipswich schools over the past few weeks because the schools have so many safety code issues.

April 22, 2009

2 min read

NEW IPSWICH, N.H. --

Firefighters have been posted at two New Ipswich schools over the past few weeks because the schools have so many safety code issues.

The town is considering building a new elementary school, but the school board said the old buildings have so many problems, that it needed to hire firefighters as a precaution.

"It's an extra step to make sure everything is as safe as we can possible make it," said fire Chief David Leel.

The Central and Appleton schools, which hold a total of 265 students, are more than 50 years old. Safety issues include no sprinklers, classrooms with one exit door, no wheelchair access and open stairwells.

"In the event of a fire, the stairwell becomes a chimney going to the top floor," said Gary Somero, director of buildings and grounds.

The schools are currently under "conditional approval" from the state, meaning they have to be fixed or face closure. When the town went to the state to extend that deadline, state officials raised safety concerns.

"Including asking themselves if these two schools should be allowed to be open for the rest of the school year," said Chris Lund, chairman of the Mascenic School Board.

The firefighters were then posted outside as a precaution. The state fire marshal will also inspect the schools Wednesday to see if they are safe for now.

If the buildings fail, students may have to double-up in other buildings or move to modular classrooms.

The board is hoping to build a new $16 million elementary school for New Ipswich and Greenville, but voters won't decide on that until December. The plan could face some hurdles. In March, voters rejected a proposal to purchase the land for the project.