New Hampshire: The Real Facts

VISIT REPORT WITH MR. GARY LA FRENIERE - CAPTAIN OF FIRE PREVENTION Date: 04/14/08

VISIT OBJECTIVE:

To understand the middle school issues leading up to the March vote and issues we are now facing:

HIGHLIGHTS

At 10:30 a.m. on 4/14/08 I had an appointment with Gary LaFreniere – Keene Captain of Fire Prevention. My primary goal was to determine if the Keene school board received timely and sufficient information on the Middle School Code violations to warrant faster action. Below are random highlights of my 1 ½ hour meeting:

• Gary LaFreniere started about ten years ago as a fire prevention/code violation inspector for the Keene Fire department,
• A great deal of his learning curve involved the new high school renovation/addition. He was amazed as to how many code violations were apparent in the high school prior to construction. He claimed that many of the things that were done in the high school prior to the new construction were done without permits. There was no State fire marshal inspection.
• After the High School project he actively pursued violations in the elementary schools which primarily involved new sprinkler systems and lighting.
• Lafreniere realized that the middle school needed attention but choose to temporarily work around it because the new bond issue for the high school was still fresh in the minds of the Keene citizens and it represented a hefty tax burden.
• Tom Remiilard moved into the position of School Maintenance Director about five years ago.
• Throughout all of LaFreniere’s tenure he never considered talking with the school board concerning the code violations of the middle school. However, he did talk with the Principals and Superintendents. He started making noise with this group about five years ago. La Freniere feels that the severity never reached the Board level because of the constant revolving door change of Superintendents. See below:
Superintendent Years served
Phil MacCormack 1989 - 2004
Barbara Trombley 2004 -2005
Michele Munson 7/2005 - 12/2006
Gurney/ Woolridge 1/2007- Present
• La Freniere’s intent was not to close down the Middle School
• The Division of Fire Safety is headed by State of NH Fire Marshal J. William Degnan.
• When there is a code violation the Fire Marshal gives the violator 30 days to come up with a plan to resolve the issue. Depending on the complexity of the situation the fire marshal will give a violator up to three years to solve the problem.
• The fire and safety codes change or get amended every three years. In the case of the Middle School it was a like a dog chasing its tail.
• The Keene Fire Chief Gary Lamoureux recently told La Freniere to do what is necessary to make the middle school safe.
• Besides fire safety, air quality is another major issue. LaFreniere claims that CO2 reach levels of 4000 ppm in some parts of the Middle School.

WEBSITE RESEARCH NOTES ON AIR QUALITY
Various codes and standards define ventilation rates for schools and office spaces. The most widely accepted standard is the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 62–1989. Using CO2 as an indicator of ventilation, ASHRAE has recommended indoor CO2 concentrations be maintained at—or below—1,000 ppm in schools and 800 ppm in offices. While levels below 5,000 ppm are considered to pose no serious health impacts, experience indicates that individuals in schools and offices with elevated CO2 concentrations tend to report drowsiness, lethargy, and a general sense of stale air. Researchers are looking for linkages between elevated CO2 concentrations and reduced productivity and achievement.
• The big issue is that code violations must be solved in three phases. The first phase must address the most immediate problems and must be done this summer. This phase is estimated to be about $290,000 and must start immediately going through the summer months. However, phase 2 and phase 3 is debatably estimated to be between $10,000,000 and $16,000,000. Phase two and three must start next year. The key argument by some advocates is if the fire inspector allowed these violations to exist all these years why is the school being penalized so quickly. The bottom line is that the Fire department was willing to take the gamble and delay code fixes with the anticipation that the bond for complete architectural drawings towards a new middle school would be approved by the voters. Since the voters did not approve this bond it forced the Fire department against the wall. Their liability against a potential middle school disaster was greatly increased. Based on the fixes that had to be made Banwell (Architect presently being used) estimated $10,000,000 to $16,000,000 for phase 2 and phase 3. Some people feel that this cost is way over inflated. The truth is that Banwell only gave a top of the head estimate and the actual figures are still being worked on. Nevertheless, it appears that the cost will be very high even if it is only a quarter of the estimate.
• Reverse Swing of two sets of doors - One of the fire code violations was two sets of swinging doors. The doors swung in the wrong direction for proper exit in the event of an emergency. The estimated cost to reverse these doors was $2,400. At first glance I thought that this cost estimate was outrageous. After talking with Gary La Freniere and making a follow-up call to Banwell Architects I found out the door frame would have to be made of metal (not wood) and would have to be sent to a metal stamping facility to stamp out the exact frame dimension to fit the present doors or potentially get new doors with new metal frames. Couple with the fact the egress going in the opposite direction would have to be changed not to mention painting and labor charges. That put a whole new spin on the $2,400 cost.
• One the most severe problems the middle school has are the sprinkler systems. There would be a need for three riser systems for the different levels of this 180,000 sq.ft. building. Not only will cost be significant (estimated to be $1,500,000) but the according to Gary La Freniere there is serious doubt whether the city water supply pressure could handle it all.
• Change of code use – safety codes vary with different use of a building. For example, here is a sample of building usage and descending levels of coding restrictions for each:
o Health Care
o Education
o Residential
o Business
o Storage
• Gary Lafreniere felt that working with the State Fire Marshal Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the code violations could be broken down into many sub-phases to alleviate the high cost of code violation repairs, but only if the $1,000,000 bond issue passes next March 2009.
• Gary Lafreniere felt that the school board should have sold the public not simply on complete drawings but the fact that the architect’s fee of $1,000,000 was also going to include constant visits to the construction site and routine meetings with the board, educators and public.
CONCLUSION
• Finger pointing the blame on the middle school code violation issue is a fruitless exercise since all parties appeared to have acted at some level in good faith to try to make the best of a tough situation. Communication black holes appear to be the culprit.
• Was communication concerning the middle school code violations by the fire department made to the school system within a reasonable amount of time? The answer is “yes”. Could it have been done differently or better? Probably “yes”.
• Was the school board made aware of the severity of the middle school situation? Probably not until late in the game.

FINAL COMMENTS (highlights)

• Educational specification requirement needed to build a new school was definitely a weakness on the part school board. However, it is my opinion that capitalizing on educational specifications was a smoke screen by those who had another agenda other than education.
• It will always be my firm opinion that the Keene citizens lost out on an opportunity to minimize the property tax impact by not voting for the $1,000,000 bond issue.
• The only other challenge is the sale of the middle school. However, under a different set of code conditions for different uses such as residential or business the challenge of selling this building would have been easier.
• It is time to move on and work with the present problem. We cannot change past events.

Editors' Note: Your Comments?