School officials and the Berne Fire district are partnering on a proposed plan to boost fire-fighting water capacity on school grounds which, if approved by the state, would provide two benefits:
•The school district would be able to move forward with a capital project approved by residents in 2007, currently delayed due to new water capacity requirements for fighting fires from the state.
•The Berne Fire District would have another source of water for fighting fires in the immediate area around the school.
Under the plan, four underground water storage tanks and a fire hydrant would be installed on school property close to County Route 443.
BKW's Maintenance and Grounds Supervisor Peter Shunney, who is also overseeing capital project construction plans for the school district, said the underground storage tanks and hydrant would meet the state's new requirements for fire-fighting water capacity on school grounds.
Although the district's current water capacity meets state requirements, a planned structural addition to the Secondary School in the capital project would put the school district out of compliance with the state's water reserve standards for fighting fires. As a result, the state will not approve the capital project until the district presents a plan to boost water capacity.
What the plan entails
Four tanks holding 6,000 gallons of water each would be installed deep underground so that at least eight feet of earth would separate the tops of the tanks and the ground surface. A fire hydrant that taps into the tanks would be placed close to the Route 443 street curb for easier access by the Berne Fire Department. The Berne Fire District would be responsible for keeping the water tanks full.
BKW Elementary School playground equipment would be reassembled and put in its original location after the tanks are buried.
Water storied in the tanks would be used in case of a fire anywhere in the Berne hamlet area including the BKW campus. The plan is designed to help the surrounding community as well as solve the water capacity issue, Shunney said.
Cost
Shunney and Karl Griffith, capital project architect, estimate that it would cost between $100,000 and $150,000 to purchase and install the tanks and hydrant, depending upon construction bids for the work. The cost would be absorbed into the capital project budget. The Berne Fire District has offered to help with funding, though it is not clear at this time how much could be contributed.
Because state approval for the capital project cannot move forward until the water capacity issue is addressed in the project plans, the district will consider altering other aspects of the capital project construction if the cost to install the tanks exceed their estimates.
"We wish we could have a more definite cost number at this point, but we're kind of between a rock and a hard place," Shunney said. "The entire capital project hinges on increasing the water capacity to state standards, yet the tanks are an unforeseen cost associated with the project. That said, it's a cost we can and will manage within the capital project's voter-approved budget constraints."
Background
Voters approved the $12.7 million capital project in December 2007. The district submitted building plans for the project to the State Education Department in spring 2009. This past summer, the State Education Department notified the district that its plans did not meet recently revised water capacity requirements for new construction. The State Education Department required written assurance from local fire departments of their full capability to fight fires at BKW before they would approve the building project.
The state has abolished a water-capacity exemption for rural areas, Shunney said, "meaning we would basically need to have as much water capacity to fight a fire as a city would."
In order for capital project construction to move forward, the state is requiring water capacity for the entire BKW Secondary School building (including new construction) to be 250,000 gallons, pumped at 1,000 gallons per minute.
District officials say the current fire zoning plan for the school provides enough water to fight a fire on campus, so they have asked the state to reduce the requirement to 130,000 gallons, which reflects additional capacity solely for the fire zone for the new construction area. State officials still need to weigh in on this request.
Bidding for capital project work cannot begin until the plan to increase water capacity is approved by the Berne Fire District and the State Education Department. Therefore, capital project construction originally scheduled to begin this fall will likely not take place until the spring of 2010. Read the article about the delay here.
Please continue to check for news and updates on the Capital Project by logging on to www.bkwschools.org and clicking on the Capital Project icon on the right side of the page.
District HOME
