Each of the former Liberty High School students faces felony charges of breaking and entering, and damaging a building. The latter is a Class 6 felony, punishable upon conviction by one to five years in prison; up to one year in jail, and/or a fine of up to $2,500.
The teens allegedly used spray paint to scrawl graffiti on the outside walls of Liberty High and sprayed the contents of fire extinguishers on the interior floors May 29. Other damage was also reported.
Thieves went on an orgy of destruction at Kings County Academy on Thursday, smashing doors and computers, spraying fire extinguishers, and breaking open trophy cases.
They were interrupted by police after neighbours reported hearing breaking glass around 2:30 a.m.
Police arrived at the school to find broken glass doors and heard people inside, who ran through the hallways with police in pursuit.
Between 6 p.m. Monday and 6 a.m. Wednesday, vandals entered a construction site in the 1800 block of Countryside Drive.
The vandals spray painted walls and discharged four fire extinguishers, according to a Lancaster police report.
Lewiston, Maine:
Private home was destroyed. Windows were smashed, shelving and furniture destroyed and belongings sprayed with a fire extinguisher.
Holliston, Massachusetts:
Vandals apparently struck again a week later, as workers found four more vandalized trucks June 19. According to police, a fire extinguisher blasted the interiors of the trucks' cabs, plus a dashboard and radio were damaged.
Police do not have a cost estimate on the damage, said Edison.
Firefighters and police are on the scene of a vandalism incident at David Brainerd Christian School.
Police say overnight someone broke windows out at the school, climbed in and discharged fire extinguishers inside. That set off the fire alarms. Firefighters responded and that's when they discovered the vandalism.
Vicksburg-Warren School District Superintendent Price estimated the district has spent $25,000 to $30,000 on vandalism-related repairs and cleanup this year. "Those dollars have to come out of the general fund," Price said. No money is set aside for potential vandalism incidents and those costs are not covered by insurance, he said. As a result, Vicksburg-Warren School District officials are stepping up security and police are increasing patrols. Read More
We run across these stories ALL the time. Fire extinguishers are the first response against indoor fires. Properly functioning fire extinguishers can put out the majority of early stage fires. In order to protect the lives of those who you are responsible for it is important to ensure that your fire extinguishers are working properly. Here are 10 recent incidents in which fire extinguishers were stolen or vandalized leaving a building at risk in the case of Dickenson High or and in extreme cases like the motel fire in Hoover Alabama, resulted in loss of life.
Stories like these are testament to the fact that in this day and age, there is no excuse for not monitoring fire extinguishers. A thirty-day checkup is simply not good enough, especially when we have the option to monitor extinguisher’s 24 hours a day.
How sad is this? Just days before school is supposed to start vandals strike the same school twice in two days. This follows vandalism at another school in the district that resulted in $50,000 in damage.
Of course, fire extinguishers were used in each case. The school is now installing cameras. Another good option would be en-Gauge electronically monitored fire extinguishers. When done, security and law enforcement officials could be immediately notified when an extinguisher was removed -- perhaps allowing for the vandals to be caught in the act.
Electronic monitoring of fire extinguishers and annual safety inspections make schools safer.
This latest incident of extinguisher theft brings the total to 20 stolen/missing fire extinguishers in the Town of Dickinson, ND.
A couple have been found discharged and strewn about town, but those that need to be replaced -- will cost $100 each.
The vandals in this case have yet to be caught.
There is an option to help prevent further vandalism -- electronic monitoring of fire extinguishers deters vandalism because the instant notification of removal means that authorities can respond quickly -- perhaps catching the bad guys in the act.
Electronic monitoring of fire extinguishers and annual inspections make schools safer.
Virtually every day, stories about vandalism in schools appear in the press, all with one consistent theme. The vandals and criminals discharge fire extinguishers in the facilities causing substantial damage, evacuations, school closings and costly cleanup charges. Here are some stories about schools that have been subjected to fire extinguisher vandalism in just the past few weeks.
Fire Extinguisher Vandalism Rates Increase at St. Boneventure University
According to a recent article in the school newspaper, The Bona Venture, Fire Extinguisher vandalism and misuse rates have increased dramatically campus wide in the last several weeks. Misuse of this vital fire safety equipment has resulted in mass student evacuation from buildings and residence halls and costly cleanup projects. As Ralph Aloia, the deputy director of safety and security for the university points out:
"The cost of a fire extinguisher itself is around $70; however, the cost to the community could be their safety, welfare and health," Aloia said. "When extinguishers are taken from their intended area and discharged, the potential cost of personal-property damage and life safety from fires to others is a huge issue."
"It is only a matter of time when a fire happens again," he said. "The history of the university speaks volumes about fires here. The community needs to come together about disregarding each others' safety. How would one actually feel if they knew their actions led to someone getting severely hurt?"
Vermont School Vandalized for the Third Time This Year
A tiny Vermont school district has been burglarized and vandalized three times so far this academic year. As Vermont TV station WPTZ.com reports:
Vermont State Police are investigating a burglary at the Twinfield Union School early this morning, the third break-in in the tiny district this academic year.
Superintendent Nancy Thomas said a damage estimate was not yet available but she said there was broken glass, fire extinguisher residue all over and office equipment was stolen.
The 440-student K through 12 school was closed Monday for cleanup but will reopen on Tuesday.
As a community, when a school is forced to close for a day due to fire extinguisher vandalism, what is the economic impact? How many parents need to take a day off from work? How much lost productivity does this result in? The cost is a lot higher than a custodian's time to thoroughly clean a building.
Vandals Trash Special Needs School, Discharge Extinguishers
In a sad story, vandals in California broke into a special needs school and caused significant damage to the Richard Henry Dana Exceptional Needs Facility and the elementary school next door. In each instance, there was significant damage to the facility and the locations were coated with residue from discharged extinguishers. Watch this segment from KABC in Los Angeles to see the damage.
As you can see in the video, the police investigators don't hold out much hope that the criminals will be caught. Another benefit of electronically monitoring fire extinguishers is that alarms can be triggered when an extinguisher is pulled, resulting in a rapid response to situations like this.
Oklahoma City School Vandalized, Thousands in Damages
A metro elementary school was targeted by vandals over the weekend. Officials say the vandals caused thousands of dollars in damage and it's not the first time this school has been hit recently.
Principal Phillip Cunningham said, "Everything was on the floor, fire extinguishers discharged, a lot of equipment broken and damaged."
These types of stories are all too common. With budgets tight and school boards struggling to stretch every dollar, losing days to cleanup or fire damage is unacceptable. To learn more about how to ensure your school is protected with electronically monitored fire extinguishers, contact en-Gauge today.
