Last month there were two fires in Long Island schools.  Just days before there was a fire in Riverhead Charter School, South Bay Elementary School in West Babylon was destroyed by fire, forcing relocation of its classes to a nearby church. The school was built in the early 1950s. Fire sprinklers were not required at that time. Since then, updated building codes in New York and other states require sprinklers in school spaces of more than 20,000 square feet. But sprinklers are not required in schools built before the code was changed. In addition, the 20,000 square foot rule is commonly skirted by designing schools in sections that are smaller than 20,000 square feet within fire-resistant walls. So where does that leave our children? (more…)