Opinion

School safety

Tuesday, February 25, 2003

Dear Editor,

On a trip through McCook a traveler notices there appears to be no external means of egress (e.g., a fire escape ) from the second floor to the main entrance in the East Ward Elementary school building. A teacher myself, I am interested in this situation, having spent 30 years as an instructor in often hazardous school buildings both in Nebraska and in Germany, The Azores and Japan.

In view of the two recent fiery tragedies now in the news, one is left wondering whether your city intends looking into the possibility of renovating that school building to conform to code. By its looks, East Ward must date to 1910 or thereabouts and surely now merits modern safety considerations. Any account about fiscal costs for a new fire escape would seem to be unacceptable here. After all, what money con-sideration could rationalize the latest deaths of 97 souls in Warwick, Rhode Island?

Respectfully,

John G. Kessel,

Fort Collins, Colo.   

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