We changed building codes to protect our children after tragic fires but done nothing to protect them from lunatics

There have been many horrifying  fires and explosions in schools which saw dramatic changes in building codes  the worst ever in 1908 in Collinwood  School Cleveland  Ohio when a Steam Pipe overheated and caught a wood beam on fire  Killing 172 students and 2 teachers and Fire Codes where changed  to include Fire Proof Stairwells  and Manual Fire Alarms

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collinwood_school_fire

Then in 1937 laws where put into effect requiring all gas entering buildings be odorized  after a tragic natural gas blast happened  in a school in New London Texas

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_London_School_explosion

Then in 1958 laws where changed to total Fire Proofing of schools   working supervised fire alarms and today  Sprinklers  after the tragic deadly fire at our Lady of the angels fire in Chicago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_the_Angels_School_fire

Child Victim Lady of Angels

But what has changed in the law and building  codes to protect our children from Lunatics?

Absolutely nothing.

Why are we not requiring  bullet resistant Lexan windows  ,Classroom doors built  like  anti terrorist entry  cock pit doors on planes, Safe Rooms with in class rooms  and Escape  Slides and  Escape doors or hatches from class rooms and Mantrap type entry doors to the schools where an intruder can be stopped and held for police like we have at some bank's or even just armed guards or police .

Does it mean we value our money more than our children it seems so.
We will not address the mental health issue in this country and in same way will not protect our children with safe guards against lunatics and bullets,  because we do not want our schools to look like prisons. But you can build in safe guards with out the prison look the rich do it with there homes all the time with safe rooms etc. So why have we not done it for our children?   Instead we say ban assault weapons which will and has done nothing to prevent violence in schools . Remember Colombine ? When are we going to get our priority's in this country straight and protect our children and get those who need mental health care to get proper treatment . It seems we have no interest and it is just a matter of time till the next big school disaster and when it comes to fire codes we have totally forgotten our private and parochial schools still holding classes in unsafe old schools and buildings  as well.
It is just a matter of time till another Lady's of the Angels Disaster on that level as well. Because we forgot about including those children in our fire codes . But Ban the Weapons .
Think about it are we doing what is right for our children or whats politically expedient ? A  determined  homicidal lunatic is a daily concern or worry but we do nothing to prevent it. Its about time stop the Political Correctness Bull shit and protect our children and society from Lunatics and lock them up if needed and get them treatment and harden up and protect our schools.Stop it now or be prepared to pay in more blood.

Shopping Plaza Fire shows why need to take a look at Sprinkler and Building Codes

 Well once again building construction techniques have out grown building codes. There was a fire this past week at Natrona Heights  Shopping center along Freeport Road  old Pa. 28 

 

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2012/12/17/flames-erupt-at-natrona-heights-plaza/#at_pco=cfd-1.0

While this shopping center was old I do believe it was sprinklered but that did  little good  when a fire possibly started by an electrical malfunction broke out in the facade overhanging the shopping center.Where there are no sprinkler heads.

Over the years facades keep getting bigger and more ornate as they dress and jazz up old shopping plazas.

But as you can see by the article there are many draw back's when they catch fire because they often do not put in any kind of firewalls or breaks the fire just takes off and once it hits the combustible roofing material there's no stopping it.

With newer construction you could easily add a couple of Nitrogen filled  dry sprinkler heads in the facade but codes do not even require that ,and to retrofit and do it the costs would be enormous.

So we have all this infrastructure hanging up there waiting for a fire to happen and as you can see major devastation some estimates are over $10 Million Dollars .

All it took was either a light fixture underneath lighting the walkway  to malfunction and catch fire or it was not properly wired and grounded in the first place and this contributed to it. More than likely it was caused by a poorly wired sign  how many times have I seen Neon or Fluorescent Signs wired improperly and not grounded.  A good case for Arc Fault Breakers to be mandated. But you will never see it  because the trip too easily and even if you change the code contractors are still going to cut corners every way they can when an inspector is not looking and in many cases these facades are never inspected properly .

Metal facades in particular need to be grounded to the  electrical service ground  to prevent these kinds of fires . Myself and others have been calling for this to be put in the code but no one listens  as usual I had a case many years ago at the Old Laseks Lounge in Oakland where an improperly  wired sign with ballast  almost caught a roof on fire because it was not grounded but had the metal facade the sign was attached to  been grounded to the electrical service  properly even thou the signs wire  was not properly grounded the breaker still would have tripped.  just a simple piece of no#6 copper wire between the facade and the electrical service. We bond pools and all metal around them for a reason to prevent shock and fire we should be doing the same to metal facades as well.

When are we going to properly treat those mentally ill who present a danger to our community ?

Yes once again a horrible tragedy at a school with a gunman in New Town  Connecticut  a tragedy which was avoidable . Not by taking away guns but by  treating those who need help for mental illness .

Once again all the signs will be there a mentally disturbed individual who needed help ignored by our mental health system because there is not enough money to treat all those who need it and  because bleeding heart liberals say we can not lock these type of dangerous individuals up.  Instead we have to protect our homes our schools our churches and work places from them as they aimlessly walk around in a mental stupor ready to go off at any minute.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/12/20/Experts-School-Shootings-Will-Continue-If-Mental-Health-Care-Stays-Same

This is why we had state run mental hospitals to lock these individuals up so they would get proper treatment so they would take there medication so that people would be there when they go off the deep end. You rarely ever heard or saw what you see today on the news when mentally ill where confined to mental health hospitals. You rarely ever saw homeless vagrants  they would have been mental health patients kept at a state hospital where they got treatment they needed instead of homeless and drifting getting into danger and being killed or committing crimes. .
No one wants to be locked up but it is something that must be done  when some one presents a danger to a community. Yes there where some badly run places yes there was abuse. But living on the street is better?  Yes some live now in group homes  but many with dangerous conditions there are many  for profit group homes  that are poorly run  as well there is abuse and there have been deaths from fires when these group homes caught fire and had no sprinklers or proper fire alarm system. But there are also well run ones as well.  Group homes are one answer but again no beds are available  when there needed.


The weapons are not the issue. Do you realize the single biggest crime and murder scene in the world 9-11 was carried out with Box Cutters . Not one hand gun involved there was not even one hand gun that killed any of the almost hundred victims at the Oklahoma City government building bombing .

http://www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org/

In 1927 in Bath Michigan a mad man blew up a grade school with dynamite no hand gun involved.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_School_disaster

 Yes I agree easy access to guns should not be and unresponsible gun owners  should be held accountable when they do not properly secure there weapons as a responsible gun owner does. 

But removing all the guns in society is not the answer . The answer is proper treatment of the mentally ill  including in hospital treatment  and confinement when needed to make sure they are not a threat. Removing guns does nothing.