A visit to a Hixson day care program by the Chattanooga Fire Department has led to the program announcing its closure for code violations.
“As most preschools do, October is Fire Prevention Month, and so we had the fire guys scheduled to come out,” said Emily Nasca, director of Trinity Lutheran Church’s Parents Day Out program. “When they were there, they said that they wanted to walk through and see where the kids were.”
Following the Oct. 20 visit, the program, which offers part-time care for prekindergarten children, was asked by the fire marshal’s office to make several building changes by Dec. 31, with more “major modifications” to be made within the next two years, according to a letter sent to parents on Friday. Combined, the church expects the changes to cost up to $100,000.
“On Oct. 28, the Trinity Church Council concluded that it is not economically feasible to undertake the major building modifications required by the fire marshal for us to continue providing day care for children,” the letter says.
Some of the modifications the church was asked to make include the installation of fire alarm systems, sprinkler systems and additional exit doors, Trinity Pastor Gary Schimmer said. The day care is scheduled to close Dec. 31.
Chattanooga Fire Department spokesman Bruce Garner said he understands that some code violations can be “quite disconcerting,” but they are in place to “ensure public safety.”
“Ultimately, the life safety codes are meant to protect the occupants in the building — the children, the staff and anybody else in that building,” he said. “Generally speaking, all of the life safety codes have been written based on some tragedy that has occurred somewhere, in the United States or somewhere else in the world.”
Facilities are given “time frames depending on the nature of those violations,” Garner said.
“If they’re not able to do that, they can no longer serve in the capacity of whatever they’re doing,” he said.
Nasca said she has scheduled a meeting with the fire marshal to gain “clarification” on fire codes for the Chattanooga Area Association for the Education of Young Children, which operates facilities similar to Trinity.
The fire department has visited during Fire Prevention Month several times in the day care’s four-year existence, Nasca said. The department didn’t cite any problems during those visits, and it has never come just to inspect the building, she said.
“I would hope that the fire marshals were more consistent so that they [inspected facilities] everywhere, every year or they didn’t,” she said.
The program consists of 120 children and 15 teachers, Nasca said.
“It’s really sad about the kids, but the thing that breaks my heart is that these 15 teachers are going to be out of a job at Christmas,” she said.
Garner said he understands that code violations can sometimes force facilities into “making a really, really tough choice.”
“The code inspectors are fully aware of the impact that they’re having on this,” he said. “But once they become aware of serious code violations, they’re duty bound to find a way to enforce them.”
Contact Michael Stone at mstone@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6673.