Saturday, Sep. 12, 2009

Re-inspection finds safety problems at Benedict dorm

Fire alarm is working, but citations given for other issues

While Benedict College has a working fire alarm at its new dorm in Northeast Richland, the system still doesn’t meet standards, the county fire marshal said Friday after a re-inspection this week.

County officials have cited Benedict three times in the past week for failing to resolve issues that were brought to light a month ago. Two of the tickets were issued for alleged violations of fire-safety laws, and a third involving land-use zoning.

A court date is set for next month.

Deputy fire marshal Miranda Gold Spivey repeated, as part of the re-inspection done Thursday, that students should not be housed at the renovated hotel at 1539 Horseshoe Drive until fire alarms and smoke detectors meet current standards.

The college renovated the vacant hotel for a dormitory and allowed students to move in Aug. 8, even as the county issued warnings the facility wasn’t safe.

But Benedict board member Steve Morrison, with the Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough law firm, said Friday the system was in good shape and tests would continue over the weekend.

He had not seen Friday’s report, which updates Spivey’s first inspection Aug. 5, listing 19 violations. The latest report notes three of the original violations have been corrected.

“Our view is that the college has had a full court press in being sure our students are in a safe and appropriate living space,” Morrison said. “We don’t want anybody to be in a situation where they’re in danger, and I think that’s fixed.”

He said the college is working with a local firm, Triteck Fire and Security.

The company will continue testing water pressure over the weekend after a pump essential for firefighting was repaired Friday, Morrison said.

County spokeswoman Stephany Snowden said a 2007 law requires Benedict College to add more smoke detectors and lighted exit signs, among other things.

The standards also require a sprinkler system, which the new dorm does not have.

Snowden said with recent improvements “the system is brought up to the old standards, but it is not brought up to the new code.”

A court date is set for Oct. 5 before Dentsville magistrate Phil Newsom to resolve the three citations.

The college could face fines of up to $1,092.52 for each citation.

Morrison said the college is prepared to install a sprinkler system — preferably between semesters, when students are on break — but wants to resolve the zoning issue first. “We don’t want to put sprinklers in a building we can’t live in.”

He said a fire monitor walks the property around-the-clock to ensure students’ safety.

He also said no students have moved out of the dorm in the past week because they were dissatisfied or their parents unhappy with the new living arrangements.

Reach Hinshaw at (803) 771-8641.

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