I was watching a wave of nasty storms race across the Florida coastline past my office this afternoon. The storms tossed debris like dust, ripped siding off a nearby building and lifted up loose shingles off the roof allowing the driving rain to enter. My first thought was for my children who I knew would be getting on the school bus home soon. I truly hoped that the school had done its preventive maintenance and secured the playground equipment as well as anything else that could fly.
I started thinking (yes there was smoke coming from my ears) what type of school equipment can cause harm if not securely fastened. I also wondered how often these items should be checked to ensure reasonable safety.
“To protect against wind damage without making any structural changes to a building, you can:
- Identify and remove trees and branches that could fall on the building walls or roof, or on power lines.
- Identify and repair loose or damaged building components such as siding, soffit and fascia, shingles and roofing, brickwork, and brick chimneys.”
Source: FEMA Training Material
School Inspection Checklist
Here is the list I came up with of the top of my head keeping in mind Florida gets many severe wind and lightning storms.
| Item | How often item should be inspected/checked |
| Debris (tree, trash, garbage) | Daily |
| Playground equipment | Weekly or before every storm if there is warning |
| Roofs | After every significant storm or quarterly |
| Doors (ability to completely close) | Monthly |
| Windows (ability to open and close) | Monthly |
| Trees | Dead and hanging branches trimmed – monthly |
| Garbage receptacles | Daily |
| School caution signs | Before every storm if there is warning |
| Circuit breakers | Quarterly |
| Fire extinguishers | Quarterly or as mandated by State and Local Law |
| Bicycles | Before every storm |
| Storm drains | Monthly and after storms. |
| Elevators | Quarterly |
| Gutters | Quarterly |
| Railings and Stairwells | Monthly |
| Emergency Broadcast system | Daily |
| Standing Water | During/after storm |
| School Bus Tires | Monthly |
I am sure if I gave it more thought the list would expand. Today, I am hoping school officials thought of these things and have a regularly scheduled inspection and preventive maintenance program in place. What items would add to the list?
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