DATE: Tuesday, September 23, 1997           TAG: 9709230242

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL  

SOURCE: BY CINDY CLAYTON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   92 lines

CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION: ***************************************************************** A missing fire extinguisher was among the violations found at Norfolk's Fire Station No. 7. A chart with Tuesday's story erroneously stated that smoke detectors were missing. Some smoke detectors had weak or dead batteries. Correction published Wednesday, September 24, 1997. ***************************************************************** FIRE CODE VIOLATIONS FOUND AT STATION 7

It was a four-alarm embarrassment for Station 7.

An inspection of the station, one of the newest in the city, turned up eight fire-code violations.

A city fire inspector found smoke detectors with weak or dead batteries. He discovered there was no fire extinguisher in a hallway near a bedroom. And the station's sprinkler system had not been inspected in more than a year.

The Fire Department has until Oct. 1 to fix the violations, most of which have already been corrected, said Don Haupt, director of Fire and Paramedical Services.

The inspection of Station 7, on 43rd Street across from Old Dominion University, was requested by one of the station's captains. The violations that the inspector found were minor, Haupt said.

``They went out there and found some smaller items that needed to be fixed. he said.

Capt. Bill Beisch, assistant fire marshal, said that the batteries in the smoke detectors have been replaced and new fire extinguishers are on order. Several problems with the station's kitchen range hood and fire suppression system also have been corrected, he said.

The 9,700-square-foot brick building was dedicated in June 1995 and cost $1.4 million.

The fire marshal's office - which is part of the city's fire department - conducted the inspection Aug. 1 and gave the department a deadline of Sept. 1 to correct the problems, then extended the date to Oct. 1, Beisch said.

The extension was granted at the department's request ``because a couple of these things require contractors,'' Beisch said. ``To get a sprinkler contractor to inspect the system would be difficult in the time frame allotted.''

Those cited can usually get extensions as long as they are working to fix the problems, Beisch said.

Failure to comply can result in fines of up to $2,500 per violation and up to 12 months in jail.

The inspector also cited the station for not having extinguishers in the apparatus bay where the fire engines are kept. But Haupt said the devices are not necessary in the bay because the engines have fire extinguishers and water on board.

Beisch said that it is unusual for firefighters to call their own inspections office to come out and look at their stations.

``The complaint is out of the ordinary,'' Beisch said. He could not speculate about why the captain called the fire marshal's office rather than go through regular department channels to fix the problems.

The captain who called in the request for the inspection could not be reached for comment.

``I think it was just a courtesy call,'' Haupt said. ``You know . . . come out and take a look and see what you think.''

Fire stations in Norfolk, as in most South Hampton Roads cities, are not formally inspected by the fire department. Such inspections are done by the city's Risk Management office, Haupt said.

Fire marshals in Chesapeake, Virginia Beach and Portsmouth said they had never had a station officer request an inspection of a station.

In Virginia Beach, each engine company inspects its own station and has the authority to call the city's Resource Management Department to procure equipment such as fire extinguishers, an assistant fire marshal said.

Chesapeake Division Chief Thomas Cooke said station officers in his city have the same authority as a fire inspector to identify and fix problems in the stations.

Beisch said the Norfolk fire marshal's office receives between 5,000 and 6,000 complaints a year. Mostly, he said, the office sends inspectors out to check businesses, child care centers, nursing homes, high-rise buildings, private schools and the city jail.

When the complaint from the Norfolk station came in to the office, Haupt said, it was treated like a complaint from a business.

``We're no more exempt than any other business,'' he said. ``We need to be checked.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Huy Nguyen/The Virginian-Pilot

[Fire Station no. 7]

Graphic

Violations

For complete copy, see microfilm KEYWORDS: CODE VIOLATION NORFOLK FIRE DEPARTMENT

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