THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

28

THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO CREATE A PRIORITY LIST FOR REPAIRING PUBLIC SCHOOL FIRE ALARM SYSTEMS AND STUDY ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATIVES.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, properly functioning fire alarm systems are essential for public school safety; and

 

     WHEREAS, the impact of fires is significantly worsened for aging facilities; and

 

     WHEREAS, as of 2022, the average age of public school buildings in Hawaii is seventy-two years, according to the Department of Education; and

 

     WHEREAS, approximately twenty percent of Hawaii's two hundred fifty-seven public schools are more than one hundred years old; and

 

     WHEREAS, the National Fire Protection Association Life Safety Code, commonly known as NFPA 101, requires schools to have functioning fire alarm systems; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2017, the Department of Education acknowledged that King Intermediate School in Kaneohe had not had a working fire alarm system for seven years; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2022, teachers at Konawaena Elementary School on Hawaii Island reported that the school's fire alarm system has been out of service for two years; and

 

     WHEREAS, a fire broke out at Konawaena Elementary shortly after the school's fire alarm system became inoperative in 2020; and

 

     WHEREAS, properly functioning fire alarms can be the difference between life and death should a fire break out at a public school; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2023, that the Department of Education is urged to create a priority list for repairing public school fire alarm systems and study acceptable alternatives; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Department of Education is requested to provide the priority list, along with a timeline for completing repairs, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2024; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Superintendent of Education, and Chairperson of the Board of Education.

Report Title: 

DOE; Public Schools; Fire Alarm Systems; Repairs; Priority List