Fire code inspectors found more than 100 safety violations in their latest inspection of Lawrence public schools.

Nearly one-fourth of the violations were at a single building: West Junior High School.

At West, firefighters found emergency exit lights not working, fire extinguishers without inspection tags or not mounted, and improperly used extension cords or power strips.

Overall, inspectors with Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical recorded 123 fire code violations at 24 elementary, junior high and high school buildings operated by the Lawrence district.

Most infractions were related to maintenance shortcomings, such as burned-out light bulbs on emergency exit signs or improper use of electrical cords.

“If there is an issue, we deal with it,” said Tom Bracciano, the district’s director of facilities and operations.

Bracciano said inspection reports were taken seriously by district staff.

The five schools with the most violations were West Junior High School, 24; Kennedy School, 12; New York School, 10; Woodlawn School, 10; South Junior High School, nine.

Four schools — Sunflower, Centennial and Broken Arrow schools and Free State High School — had no violations.

Fire Marshal Rich Barr said the inspections were conducted by Fire & Medical personnel yearly, typically in the fall, when classes were in session. He said this number of violations was not out of the ordinary for the district.

“Generally, what we find are things either created by occupants or maintenance issues,” Barr said. “The district generally has always been good about getting them fixed.”

West Junior High School, 2700 Harvard Road, was cited for 24 fire code violations in Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical's latest inspection of Lawrence public schools. In all, the district had 123 code violations.

He said it was inevitable infractions would be found, given the number and size of the buildings.

Bracciano said a frequent mistake made by teaching staff was use of electrical power strips. Extension cords should not be plugged into the strips, he said, creating a “daisy chain.”

Half of the eight violations at Lawrence High School were connected to extension cords, the reports say.

“A lot of it is dealing with people by informing them they can’t do that,” Bracciano said.

¢ Fire inspection infractions listed by location

Faulty exit lighting is another common violation. At New York School, eight of 10 infractions were related to back-up exit lights that didn’t work. The two others were related to a cluttered furnace room and improper storage of paint and chemicals, the report said.

One building operated by the district — Wakarusa Valley School at 1104 E. 1000 Road — wasn’t inspected by Fire & Medical because it’s located outside its jurisdiction, Barr said.

The last major fire in a district building was in December 2001, when a blaze destroyed a portable classroom trailer at Hillcrest School, 1045 Hilltop Drive. Arson was suspected, but no arrests were made.