School sprinklers a cost issue

The Ministry of Education is being urged to put sprinkler systems in all schools after a suspected arson destroyed four classrooms and a library on the Kapiti Coast.

The fire gutted a Paraparaumu School block on Sunday night. All its old photos and archives went up in flames as it was planning a 125th anniversary in November.

Three teenage girls have been arrested in relation to the fire, which is believed to have been started in a rubbish bin next to the building.

Retired New Zealand Fire Service national fire safety director Kevin Henderson said a sprinkler system would have saved the building.

‘‘Even as arson, one or two [sprinkler] heads would have gone off and done the job. The tragedy is that it could have only been a minor incident. We will carry on losing schools and lives until the message gets through.’’

Sprinklers cost 3 per cent of a total building cost, he said, but there was a gap between building designers and senior government about appreciating their value.

Paraparaumu School principal Steven Caldwell said there were smoke detectors in the gutted block, but no sprinkler system.

‘‘There is a case to be made for the Ministry of Education to fit and retrofit all schools with sprinkler systems. It may not have stopped our fire.

‘‘We put our funding into educational resources . . . we are told how to spend our money. Why not make a blanket policy that all schools have sprinkler systems?’’

An arson attack at Kena Kena School in Paraparaumu in 2007 caused $87,000 of damage.

Principal Bruce McDonald said it considered installing a sprinkler system afterwards, but it was too expensive for the school’s five-year property budget provided by the Government.

Fire Service senior fire risk management officer Peter Fox said the service wanted the Government to make sprinkler systems compulsory in all schools, industrial and residential buildings.

‘‘There would be a massive reduction in insurance costs, loss of life and property.’’

Ministry head of education infrastructure service Kim Shannon said it encouraged schools to install sprinkler systems.