Where There’s Smoke, There’s Usually Fire; and Illegally Parked Cars
The fact is that there are just not enough convenient parking spaces in any of the lots at three village elementary schools. The question is whether that fact entitles visitors to the schools to park in the fire zone. The fire department, police department, school board and many parents are convinced that it does not. However, some parents and others believe that their convenience is more important than our children’s safety. Those are the people who persist in parking in the fire zones when they are “just running in for a minute” or “there are no spaces in the lot” or “it’s just this once” or whatever.
According to Chief Leo DeBobes of
the Setauket Fire Department, “there have been large scale losses of life in
schools in the
It seems simple enough, park in the far reaches of the lot or on the street – walk a little – and stay out of the fire zone or get a ticket. But it’s not that easy, say the police of the Sixth Precinct. Police Officer Sandra Lochren of the COPE (Community Oriented Police Enforcement) Unit calls it a chronic problem that looks easier to solve than it is. “It’s just not good community relations to keep ticketing people who are basically law abiding citizens,” she said. According to her it is an unwritten policy that when an officer is called to a scene such as a concert at a school they ask someone in authority at to get on the PA system and announce that everyone needs to move out of the fire lane. They ask for the announcement to include a warning that all cars not relocated within ten minutes will be ticketed. “This gives the law abiding citizen a chance to move his or her car,” she said. “It solves the safety problem without forcing us to give out tickets all the time.” This is a solution she and her fellow officers can live with. However, it requires the cooperation of the schools involved.
It also requires the cooperation of the drivers. While living next door to your child’s elementary school has many advantages, the neighbors of three village schools dread large events. They mean there will be people parked everywhere on their normally quiet streets. Their mailboxes will be blocked or knocked over. The will be unable to get into or out of their driveways because strange cars will be blocking the entrances or even pulled into the driveways themselves. While not parking in the fire zone is a matter of common sense and safety, not parking on private property is a matter of common sense and courtesy.
Officer Lochren suggested that the Board of Education send the annual school calendar to the COPE office of every precinct in the area so they are aware of major events such as concerts, PTO meetings and the like and can patrol the area. This is a suggestion that Jay Scotto-Friedman, as chair of the Board of Education’s Health and Safety Committee, said he would take care of immediately. She suggested further that individual schools fax over their monthly schedules and call their local precinct on the day of a major event to remind them to send a car over. She then suggested that administrators let parents know that the police have been asked to insure the integrity of their fire zones so they don’t feel ambushed.
While Fire Chief DeBobes spoke
highly of the
When he was informed of their interest during an interview for this article Scotto-Friedman immediately volunteered to invite both Officer Lochren or one of her COPE counterparts and Fire Chief DeBobes to take permanent seats on his committee. (Other members of the committee include a representative from each school, the district’s insurance company, the worker’s compensation administration, every union represented in the district, the supervisor of buildings and grounds and a community representative (usually a parent).) “The purpose of this committee is to promote the highest degree of safety for all the students and employees in our schools,” said Scotto-Friedman, “so it makes sense that we would seek input from experts in these areas.”
Chief DeBobes indicated that he had come across concerns about expenses involved in keeping the fire zones free of parked cars. He suggested simple orange cones placed in the fire zone prior to heavy traffic events. This is less expensive and more convenient than any type of gates and not as resource or cost intensive as having staff members patrol the parking lots. He added, “it’s not just up to the fire department or the police to enforce the fire zones. Scout leaders, coaches, teachers, school administrators, parents and even students all share responsibility for keeping those areas clear.” (Mindful of individual responsibility, one parent at Minnesauke has printed up “citizen parking violation notices”, photocopied messages reminding drivers that they are parked in the fire zone, thus endangering the lives everyone in the building and that this parent would charge for the “ticket” if it were possible. These have been slipped under the windshield wipers of offending vehicles.)
In describing what could happen in the event of a fire at a three village elementary school Chief DeBobes said that if there are cars in the fire zone his firefighters are instructed to knock out the car’s windshields and run their hoses through the interior of the car, to walk on top of and over the cars – to do whatever they think necessary to get to the fire. (And no, the fire department is not responsible for damages your car was parked illegally.) He said, “we can work around a few cars, but it really slows us up and makes it harder for us to work.” In addition, “one engine needs to feed another so if they can’t get close enough together, we can’t fight the fire.” And if the entire area is blocked, they simply can’t get the hoses in and there is nothing they can do but watch it burn.
And that’s just the hose situation. The ladder trucks are even harder. In a situation like the circle in front of Minnesauke, even if there are only a few cars parked, they present a major problem. “A ladder truck needs to be within a certain distance to accommodate the 100 foot ladder – it doesn’t bend like a hose,” said Chief DeBobes. Firefighters need to use ladders even on one story buildings like three village elementary schools so they can chop holes in the roof to allow the smoke and heat to escape, thus granting those caught inside precious extra moments to scramble to safety, and offering firefighters access to the building when traditional entrances are blocked by smoke and or flames.
Given the interest of the Board of Education and the school administrators in this issue, and the insight and understanding offered by the police and fire departments, it is likely that the next meeting of the Health and Safety Committee will produce new and viable suggestions for combating this pervasive and dangerous problem. In the meantime, in the words of Chief DeBobes, it remains the responsibility of everyone parking a car near a school to respect the lives of its inhabitants more than the desire for a shorter walk.