Downey : 4 Schools Get OK to Open After Fixing Fire Alarms
Four schools that had been threatened with closure passed fire inspections and opened to students this week.
Earlier this summer, Downey fire officials said they would close two elementary and two high schools after the Downey Unified School District delayed repairing or replacing defective and obsolete fire alarm systems.
Last year, fire inspectors found some systems disconnected, and many of the red fire alarm boxes located throughout the schools out of order. Instead of repairing the equipment at Warren High School, administrators had assigned students to run to the office in case of fire, where the central alarm could be activated.
In August, the City Council gave the financially troubled school district $200,000 to insure that the systems would meet state requirements. Since then, new fire alarm systems have been installed at Gauldin and Gallatin elementary schools. New equipment also was installed at Downey High School, and the system at Warren High was repaired and will later be replaced, Fire Marshal Dennis Groat said.
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