Report: Fire Inspections Lax at Some Rhode Island City Schools

Providence, R.I., fire officials have failed to perform state-mandated yearly inspections at city schools, some of which haven’t been inspected in several years.

Records obtained by WJAR-TV show that 16 city schools had fire safety inspections at least five years out of date on the first day of school this year. For 14 other schools, no inspection records could be found before this year.

Greene Middle School’s last recorded fire inspection was nine years old. Parents of students at the school told WJAR that they were concerned about their children’s safety.

Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare is vowing to fix the problem. He blamed what he called a poor and outdated paper-based inspection records system.

Pare says fire officials will be checking every school every year from now on.