ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 11, 1997 TAG: 9701130037
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
A REPORT that the state fire marshal has stopped inspecting college dorms raises concerns that these buildings are unsafe.
Stung by reports that the state fire marshal's office has not been regularly inspecting university dormitories, Del. Earl Dickinson said Friday he plans to introduce a bill requiring that dorms be inspected annually.
``Our state law now requires the fire marshal to inspect state prisons at least once a year, but doesn't say a thing about the places where our students are living,'' said Dickinson, D-Louisa County and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
A report by the fire marshal said the office has dropped routine safety inspections of 1,500 schools, hundreds of hotels and college dormitories and dozens of hospitals because of budget cuts and an increasing workload.
The state inspections - the only ones those structures regularly received - were cut during a four-year period in which the fire marshal's staff was reduced 20percent and its personnel were stretched thin doing required inspections.
The fire marshal's budget for fiscal 1996-97, which began July 1, is $1.1million, about the same as the past two years. The General Assembly cut the budget by a total of $183,000 during the 1994-95 and 1995-96 fiscal years.
Gov. George Allen has recommended a $159,500 increase for the fire marshal's office in his 1997 budget amendments.
The legislation suggested by Dickinson does not include any extra funding for the fire marshal's office.
Fire Marshal Edward Altizer and Warren Smith, director of the state Department of Housing and Community Development, met Friday with the capital outlay subcommittee. Smith had proposed a study on how to improve the fire marshal's office, but legislators told him to prepare requests that can be acted on during this session of the General Assembly.
``I think it's important that we do it now,'' said Del. Alan Diamonstein, D-Newport News.
Between 1992 and 1996, Altizer's staff was reduced from 30 to 24. At the same time, the number of inspections his office was required to perform on such structures as prisons, adult homes and child care centers increased.
During the 1995-96 fiscal year, state law or contracts with the federal government required the fire marshal to inspect 307child care centers, 571adult homes, 362nursing homes and hospitals, 329state prisons and 45local jails.
During the 1994-95 fiscal year, the fire marshal inspected 137schools, 109college dorms and 8hotels or motels. For the fiscal year that ended June 30, the figures were 3hotels, 57dormitories and 98schools, Altizer said.
About one-third of Virginia localities, covering 70percent of the population, conduct fire safety inspections themselves, Altizer said. The state fire marshal is responsible for inspections in the remaining localities, as well as in most state government buildings.
``We don't have the staff for that to inspect all state buildings,'' Altizer said.
In an attempt to increase the number of fire safety inspections, the fire marshal has developed a pilot program in which the University of Virginia will be trained to perform inspections previously handled by the fire marshal. Altizer said other universities will be invited to join the program.
Inspection problems are not the only troubles at the fire marshal's office.
The Associated Press reported in November that 13 high-rise dormitories on seven Virginia campuses do not have sprinkler systems in student living areas. Twelve of the dorms are at state-supported colleges or universities. The other high-rise, at private Hampton University, houses 200students.
Allen's 1997 budget amendments include a $9.8 million authorization to address fire safety concerns at the state college dormitories mentioned in the report.
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1997by CNB