Community rallies around high school student
A Tonganoxie senior was hospitalized late last month, and now the community is now rallying around him. Enlarge video
Questions are arising about whether the city acted properly when it allowed a dentist to move into a building that was the site of a March 30 medical gas accident that seriously injured a Tonganoxie youth.
Lawrence City Hall officials confirmed that they do not have a record of whether a required third-party inspection of a medical gas system was conducted at a new dental surgery center operated by Dr. S. Kirk Vincent at 4811 Bob Billings Parkway.
On March 30, Tonganoxie High School senior Austin Stone went to the dental office to have his wisdom teeth removed. After being sedated with medical gas, complications occurred, according to a Web site created by Stone’s family. Stone was taken to Lawrence Memorial Hospital after he stopped breathing, and later was taken to Kansas University Hospital. Attempts to reach members of the Stone family for comment were unsuccessful. As of late Thursday, Stone remained hospitalized but further updates on his medical condition were not available.
The city maintains it was not legally obligated to ensure that a qualified private firm was hired by the builders to inspect the medical gas system, which is used to deliver oxygen and nitrous oxide. But Scott McCullough — the city’s director of planning and development services, who oversees the inspections department — said the city may make changes to the code.
“This event certainly highlights that more can be done to ensure that the inspections are noted in the file,” McCullough said.
McCullough said the city has not been on-site to determine what went wrong with the medical gas system at the building. But since the accident, Dr. Vincent — in a letter to the city’s building inspection’s department — wrote that the accident was caused by improper installation of the medical gas lines.
“The individual manifolds used to connect the oxygen and nitrous oxide were inadvertently transposed,” Dr. Vincent wrote in the April 8 letter. “I was given the go-ahead to begin practicing, and a serious injury occurred to a young man in my office. The problem was solely related to the incorrect hookup of the manifolds.”
According to building permit documents obtained by the Journal-World and 6News through a Kansas Open Records Act request, Lawrence-based Action Plumbing installed the medical gas lines.
An attorney for Action Plumbing said he did not know whether a third-party inspection had been done on the medical gas system. A representative for the general contractor — Lawrence-based Design Build Collaborative — declined to comment.
Some leaders in the Lawrence plumbing industry are raising concerns about whether the city did enough to prevent the accident.
“A mistake was made, but there was a means of not having that mistake happen if there would have been an inspection,” said Denis Wittman, the business officer for the Lawrence chapter of the Plumbers & Pipefitters union.
City officials did make more than 15 inspections of the building, as part of the normal process for any building to receive a building permit in the city, McCullough said.
But city code requires the contractor hire an outside inspection company to conduct a variety of tests on the medical gas system, McCullough said. He said under the code, Dr. Vincent should have received a certificate from the contractor showing the medical gas inspection had been completed.
Dr. Vincent said he never received such a certificate, adding that he was unaware that he was supposed to receive a certificate.
It is unclear whether the city — as the enforcer of the code — had an obligation to determine whether the inspection had been done before city inspectors issued a permit allowing Dr. Vincent to occupy the building.
McCullough said the city’s position is that it had no obligation to verify the medical gas inspection took place.
“As I understand it, we did not take any steps to determine whether it was inspected because it doesn’t fall under our purview,” McCullough said.
In 2007, the city switched its plumbing code from the Uniform Plumbing Code system to the International Plumbing Code system. The switch was made by the City Commission despite formal opposition from the city’s Board of Plumbers and Pipe Fitters. The plumbing board recommended against adopting the International code because members said the International code was often too vague and open to interpretation.
In March 2007 — when the City Commission was debating the subject — commissioners were warned that the International code had lesser medical gas standards, according to the City Commission meeting minutes. Bill Schweitzer, the north central regional manager for the company that publishes the Uniform Plumbing Code, specifically brought up the medical gas issue.
This week, Schweitzer said news of the accident angered him.
“I’m a little bit hot, to say the least, and quite upset,” Schweitzer said. “It is senseless. There’s absolutely no reason for that to happen. None.”
McCullough said the city didn’t agree with the assertion that the International code was weak in the area of medical gas regulation, but said the city was open to adding provisions to the code.
Dr. Vincent, in a letter to the city, has asked that the city be required to verify a proper inspection of medical gas systems has been done before a building is allowed to be occupied.
McCullough said he likely will present that idea to the city’s plumbing board in May or June.
Wittman — the union representative — said he’ll also push for a more thorough review of the entire International Plumbing Code. He fought adoption of the code in 2007, saying it was vague in several areas.
“I’m not going to let this one lay,” Wittman said. “I got beat down on it before and got tired and finally just said it was something we could live with. But now it is clear that we can’t.”
Comments
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cheeseburger (anonymous) says…
The matter of responsibility in this case won't be resolved anytime soon. In the meantime, I hope Austin recovers.
persevering_gal (anonymous) says…
Schweitzer & Vincent - thank you for continuing to push this issue. It sounds like you knew that this could be a potential hazard. While it may be an "I told you so" moment, now is the time for the city to obviously change the code.
Austin and family, you will remain in my thoughts in prayers.
458casul (anonymous) says…
lets get to the point action plumbing did this to the poor doc now we have a kid that was a going to better things is not going action had no med gas permit steve blancherd didnt do his job nor did the city barry walthaw that sighed the deal so shame on them all and barry walthaw should be fired
458casul (anonymous) says…
take all there permits
458casul (anonymous) says…
and action plumbing has a death to add to there agenda as I hope and pray this kid comes out and action plumbing looses there permet for life
yellowhouse (anonymous) says…
last year my cousins 18 year old son was given a bad mix of gas during a wisdom tooth removal. He had a debilatating stroke that left one side of his body paralized.
These things happen more often than you would think.
LL3CKU (anonymous) says…
persevering-gal You shouldnt believe everything you read. I was wondering when this would come out and what the paper's take would be. If you ask union plumbers and Union reps of course it was the city commission's fault for not adopting the Union's code. The International plumbing is used in 95% of the country. Where are all the medical gas deaths and injuries? The two codes have the EXACT same requirements when it comes to medical gas NFPA99. Union Reps should not try to use this tragedy to make political points. 458casul's got it right. This is about the incompetence of individuals not the system.
ModSquadGal (anonymous) says…
I'm so sorry this happened to Austin - he was obviously a good kid with a bright future. I hope he recovers and add my thoughts and good wishes to his family. Dr. Vincent is a wonderful oral surgeon and I know personally that he is very vigilant regarding the safety and well being of his patients. I'm sure this has been very hard on him and his employees and my heart goes out to them as well.
middlemgmt (anonymous) says…
LJW,
Please follow up with the young man's condition. Everyone is pulling for him and we would like to know if he is getting better.
beckyk66046 (anonymous) says…
An update on Austin - He is not brain dead there is voluntary movement - when he is asked by people to squeeze hands he does..
thelonious (anonymous) says…
This is a horrible tragedy that should not have happened. But everyone is going to point blame at someone else - the oral surgeon at the plumber, the plumber at the city, the city at the union, the union at the code, so on and so forth. Let's not rush to judgement - all we really know is that the young man was given an improper mix of gas. No one really knows why or how at this point, possibly not even Dr. Vincent. All we have is the letter from the oral surgeon stating his take on what happened. Until others weigh in, inspections are done, people are deposed, etc., none of us know the whole story.
For example - maybe the plumber actually did screw up (at this point, we do not know)- even if they did so, what duty does the oral surgeon have to make sure that his equipment is working correctly? Then there is the city - seems prudent to require a third party inspection to "double check" something like this, whatever code you are using, this is just common sense.
It's just so much easier to "pass the buck". I won't make any negative comments about any of the parties involved, but I will say that I have had work performed by Action Plumbing, both at my business and my home (standard plumbing stuff, but involving potentially dangerous stuff like natural gas lines), and they have never been anything but completely thorough and professional. So before you all convict Action Plumbing, I suggest you wait for more facts to come out, because there almost certainly will be more information as the lawsuits come, etc.
Most importantly, my thoughts and prayers are with this young man and his family. Let's leave the rest for the legal system to work out, and hopefully this young man will make a full recovery.
luvtocamp (anonymous) says…
omg! tonganoxie shocked by teens death....austin is alive and jeremy has died,,,,ljw please get this fixed! too many mistakes on this piece!
458casul (anonymous) says…
1.action plumbing has no med gas licence and should have never installed the system
2.med gas installation is very expensive and action plumbing would have to call in a company that had a licence very exspensive
3.the IPC code says you shall call a third party inspector to inspect the med gas system once again expensive
4.Action plumbing did not do it right because of greed
5.the general contractor should have made action plumbing get a third party inspection that is his job but I guess there buddies and you dont need the licence or experiance to do med gas systems according to steve blanchard the GC and sits on the citys licence review board and he says as long as you have the experiance you can have a licence.Well steve I have 30 years experiance reading blue prints so will you make me a licenced architech
6.should the city require a third party inspection report before giving the good doctor the right to open its in the code under med gas so yes they should have and it was the job of the job of the general contractor also to get this from action plumbing
7.Dr Vincent paid to get his new office done he had know idea corners were cut to save money and the code was not enforced and now we have this sinceless tradegty
8.this could have been my son. Dr vincent did the same surgery to my son 5 months ago and did a great job
9.all involved should should go before the city licence board and loose there licence for life to start with
10. lets all prey for austin stone
458casul (anonymous) says…
one more thing people need to know Keven that owns Action Plumbing went to levenworth to take his test to get his masters licence the city of lawrence says you shall have six years experiance in the field.the city of levenworth didnt require anything at that time but 50.00 and didnt check your background so why did he go to levenworth to take the test you be the judge
458casul (anonymous) says…
thelonious get it straight They Had No Licence to install med gas systems what more could you want they didnt do it right because of greed
redmoonrising (anonymous) says…
Sounds like everyone here is trying to pass the buck. As I am not familiar with the plumbing codes, it only makes sense that only a plumber licensed to do medical gas lines be used by contractors. Even then, I would think not only a third party but the city as well should do inspections on something this vital. People's lives are at stake here. I don't know Dr. Vincent but I'm guessing he, in good faith, used the gas with the belief that all was done correctly. Would he be able to tell while administering them? Most likely they are done through a mask, none escaping into the room and therefore undetectable. We hire contractors to handle the details when we are not able to do the work ourselves. Who was responsible for the installing of the gases and labeling the lines correctly?
The point is, a young man is fighting for his life because someone or ones made a horrible mistake. Instead of everyone covering their butts, it's time to take this matter in hand and solve the problem so this never happens again. There are always risks with any individual when using medical gases. The least we can do is to insure that we can safely assume we are going to be treated by any doctor or dentist with properly installed and inspected equipment.
cadillac (anonymous) says…
A sad day for everyone. In my work, we medical facilities nationwide. Med gas certification should be completed by a third party, and should be signed off on any builiding permit. This may not be required at this level, but a tragic oversite if it's not. Everyone can blame someone else, but this was a mistake that lead to a tragic accident. Just that. No one, not the Dentist, not the Plumber, not the City, No one wanted this to happen. Pray for the one that needs it most.
LWC115 (anonymous) says…
Ulitimately there is responsibility accross the board.
The IPC/UPC argument is irrelavent as NFPA99C ultimately outlines the guidelines in this type of facility and both IPC and UPC reference NFPA99C.
There are two main issues here. You have responsibilty of the construction/design team for providing a working system that meets all local and national codes. This would include the 3rd party inspection requirement.
Second you have a Dentist/proprietor who is ultimately responsible for providing a facility, equipment and standard of care. Making sure the anasthesia equipment he purchased and is using is working correctly is ultimately his responsibility.
The argument of oversight is valid but ulitimately Dr. Vincent is responsible for the safety of his patient.
One could also ask does Dr. Vincent as a DDS have all of the training and certifications required to adminster anesthesia. Should this be yet another City of Lawrence requirement.
Ultimately where does the oversight end?
It is easy for all of us armchair lawyers to convict the respective parties in this case, but there is ultimately many more details of this case that we do not know and would be required for a truly objective evaluation of what went wrong.
luvtocamp (anonymous) says…
thank you for taking the wrong info off the story. it was 3 am when I saw that and I was livid! I hope none of his family saw it. Thank you and I hope that people slow down and research the facts before it is written for the world to see.
Yeoman2 (anonymous) says…
Guilty parties” or rush to “judgement?? let's start with the idiots on the “city commission” and their leader, the “city manager”, Mr. Core-less.
They chose “international standards”, (pretty much the same song as the European fad roundabouts) against the advice of local, American professionals. These boneheads, who are elected “at large” from a group of social climbers who can buy the most yard signs, are totally incompetant to manage the affairs of a city like Lawrence, and they are completely at the beck and call of the “City Manager”. They make stupid and dangerous decisions, they allow criminal behavior in a city apartment (I have proof of that statement) and are an useless as the nipples on a boar hog. Why the citizens of this community continue to allow this arrangement is beyond me, but they keep voting for these air-heads with the yard signs.
458casul (anonymous) says…
Lcw115 lets go slow here for you the manifold system was hooked up wrong done by action plumbing,action plumbing has no licence to do this job of a med gas system, the GC didnt do there job,The city barry walthaw didnt enforce the IPC code that says in chapter 12 that you will get a third party inspection,and action plumbing couldnt call for one because they dont have a licence to show him.Now how is any of this Dr Vincents fault
greenworld (anonymous) says…
Wow, lets see here, I could name at least three people that should prepare themselves to be sued if this kid doesnt make it. The oral surgeon, plumber and city are all failures in this and should be held accountable. In the dentist situation, if he knew there was a red flag he shouldnt have done business until it was fixed or corrected. The plumber guys probably just quickly did what they were suppose to do and said to hell with it, let somebody fix the probably as the code wasnt specific enough to have them do much more. But whoever did the work should have known code or not and that they were half-assing it. Last the city doesnt understand half the stuff they are currently dealing with anyway so it's a little bit unfair to point the finger at them but they do have the final signoff on issueing a building licence/permit and letting the place open. So they as well should be held accountable up to some levels. This family can prepare to become millionaires because I wouldnt settle for anything less than that.
LWC115 (anonymous) says…
If you read my original post you will see that I said there were 2 main issues. You need to look past your apparent hatred of Action. Action is a licensed plumbing contractor in the City of Lawrence. Medical gas certification is not held at the contractor level, it is by the individual. And it would appear that Action did not have a MedGas certified individual to install the entire system, not just the manifolds. I do not disagree that the apparent mistake of installation of the gas manifold could be the root cause of the problem, if indeed this is the case. We do not have the facts. Whether NFPA99C or IPC chapter 12 is your source the 3rd party inspection is required. However, the AHJ is not normally the one the enforces this. The A/E team and ultimately the facility and any oversight they have ( JCAHO or AAAHC ) would be the final signoff.
As far as Dr. Vincent goes, it is his building and his practice. He should have hired an appropriate A/E team and GC as well as worked with his Anesthesia equipment supplier to make sure the system was ready to be used for patient care. Including asking for the 3rd party inspection report.
And finally, the physioligical effects of administering Forane or Ethrane gas or N2O vs O2 would be apparent as soon as the patients PO2 started to drop and heart rate started to rise. Obviously by the unfortunate outcome this was not recognized very quickly.
458casul (anonymous) says…
hatred towards action if that was my kid 5 mo ago all involed would see hatred and all involed should be hated for what they did to this kid,action for greed,GC for being an ass and not knowing the code,and the city for letting this happen
jafs (anonymous) says…
Having had a personal bad experience with Action Plumbing, I was not that surprised to read this story.
LWC,
When you hire contractors to work on your house or business, you have a right to assume they will do the job correctly and perform all necessary inspections.
If they don't, they are liable for the mistakes, in my opinion.
The article stated quite clearly that Action was required to have a third party inspection of the gas lines and that the doctor never received a certificate for that as he should have.
Should the city require that all of those kinds of inspections be on file at the city as well or should the city do all of these kinds of inspections? Perhaps, but the failure here was clearly Action Plumbing's, assuming the doctor is telling the truth.
sunshine_noise (anonymous) says…
Well, it's a wonder inspections are required, because some people just don't do their job. Looks to me like a yoo-yoo games and passing the buck back and forth that no one wants to take responsbility for this. Heck with the blame - fix the problem and prevent it in the future. If the city is responsible for all inspections then they should be responsible for seeing these sort of inspections are completed by the plumbing company who installed the line. The building needs to make it known to the buyer that a certificate is required before moving in. Doesn't take Einstein to figure this one out. Only takes a mediators to yell at the kids to stop arguing among themselves and just do the right thing be responsible.
sunshine_noise (anonymous) says…
Let me add - society is getting tired from working so hard, stressed from paying out so much of their hard-earned cash and not enough quality time with their families. We are pushed to the hilt. No wander mistakes happen and too often these days. I VOTE for shorter work hours - 6 hours a day at the same pay. I believe the workforce would accomplish the same, if not more if we did not have to max ourselves out day by day. We humans need the interaction of our families and friends to replenish our minds, hearts and souls. I think people would smile more, be more friendlier and work more dilligently. If we just had those 2 hours more for our lives to flouish outside of a JOB.
ghostwriter (anonymous) says…
This article is poorly written and missing ALOT of factual information. Shame on the ones of you that are so quick to pass judgement based on this article alone.
Austin, you are in my prayers.
6013 (anonymous) says…
What a terrible tragedy! My thoughts and prayers are with Austin and his family. There is no need for finger pointing of who dropped the ball here. Every level of responsiblity failed here from the installer, plumbing contractor, general contractor, architect, engineer, city inspector and the doctor. It is not a UPC or IPC issue, it is a matter of nfpa 99. nfpa has been accepted by the State of Kansas and we are responsible for adhering to its guidelines. If the appropriate testing was done by the installer and followed up on by the verifier this would never happen. The fact of the matter is that the entire building would have been piped "backwards" if the manifolds were "inadvertently transposed". This was not as simple as the bottles being installed incorrectly, the piping system was not installed to the appropriate header! This is not the first cross connection to ever happen and it is time that the local authority having jurisdiction gets additional training/funding to take over these inspections. Shame on all who have had a hand in this!
countrygirl (anonymous) says…
Statements hair salon held a cut a thon for Austin and his family yesterday. I haven't talked to Lisa yet to see how it went, but I think they were going to take donations for a few days after the cut a thon too. They're in Trailridge--but closed today. Stop by and make a donation later in the week.
mostermeyer (anonymous) says…
Stone family, please know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. We know that your fence is much higher to climb than ours and we think of you everyday. We didn't know that Austin was such an avid hunter. Perhaps once this is overwith for all of us, the guys can go hunting!
Jake Ostermeyer and Family
Machiavelli_mania (anonymous) says…
My heart is aching for the family.
Hit this hot dentist hard, hard hard!!!
This should not have happened.
And all of ya, I do honestly believe you can stand a little bit of pain. No need for gas.
I hate dentists. Flat out dislike them immensely. This does not surprise me one iota. I have yet to meet a licensed dentist that appears to care about their clients, whether it is me or those in my family.
desktop (anonymous) says…
The city inspection department knew what was being built as the plans would definitely have listed all the med lines needed for this office. Since the building permit lists all the other inspections required by code, it seems to me that the inspection department should have included this med-gas inspection with the completed form faxed to them so that an occupancy certificate could be completed. The city adds inspections like boiler operations and fire inspections, which are done by outside inspectors when needed, so to omit this one and blame the GC, plumber and doctor is absurd. Apparently the language already exists within the code and the inspection department failed to add that needed inspection to the permit.
The GC is responsible for calling for inspections. He submits the plans and applies for the building permit, which has a list of all inspections required by the city. His permit application lists all the trades that will be used on his project. As each trade completes their portion of the work, the GC is contacted so that he can schedule the appropriate inspection. Unless Action applied to the city for the plumbing portion of this project, (and I feel certain that they did not), then Action would not be the one calling for inspections.
I’m not implying that Action is blameless in the hookup of the manifold, just that they would not be the ones requesting any of the inspections, let alone the final third party inspection. Inspection scheduling is the responsibility of the GC, who must have completed the listed inspections because the office was in use. Again, if a specific inspection is needed, then just list it along with the others. I don’t see the need for a lot of discussion on the part of the city, or additional language added to Lawrence City Codes. Just do it.
My thoughts and prayers are with this young man and his family.
ksjhawks (anonymous) says…
I haven't been able to find the family's web site. Does anyone know what the address is? Thanks.
ghostwriter (anonymous) says…
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/aus...
LL3CKU (anonymous) says…
Desktop - your'e clueless on this one. 458casul and 6013 got it mostly right. Action plumbing knew thet needed a med gas cert, but chooose to do it with out one. The purpose of the Cert is to ensure a minimum level of knowledge. If they knowlingly violated law which resulted in injury that may be criminal. They could not get a third party test because the tester would have required a med gas certified plumber. NFPA ultimatetly hold the installer and the facility manager responsible. Not the AHJ
desktop (anonymous) says…
LL3CKU - I did not say anything other than the city inspectors know the codes and which licenses are needed by which trades to complete each project. When the permit application was submitted, you can be sure that the licenses of all the subs were listed and verified as being current. If the city dropped the ball and did not request a med gas certificate on this job and did not demand to have the third party inspection done, then ultimately the city failed to do its job.
You and 458casul insist that Action knowingly violated the code by intentionally working without the proper license and that may be the case. I am only stating that apparently the city code has language within it that pertains to the installation and inspection of med gas and that information and the required inspection should have been noted on the permit like they insist be done with other third party inspections so that all is in order before the final inspection and occupancy permit is written.
ghostwriter (anonymous) says…
Why don't you all stop bickering and trying to place the blame and start better using your efforts to make sure the city has proper guidelines in place so this doesn't happen again. I read through here and only a few of you have stated concern for Austin and his family. Come on people; Show some compassion.
demden (anonymous) says…
The IPC (Ch. 12, sect. 1202) is very explicit that medical gases shall be designed in accordance with nfpa 99. nfpa 99 in turn is also very explicit on testing requirements for "Installers" and "Verifiers". The "Installer" (plumbing contractor) is required to perform a Cross-Connection Test. It is very apparent this was not done. After the "Installer" has completed their required tests, the "Verifier" (GC hiring responsibilty) is also required to perform a Cross-Connection Test, which does not appear to have occurred. The bottom line is that the Plumbing Contractor and General Contractor were both in violation of the codes. The city also needs to revise their requirements for code enforcement. Hope all works out for the young man.
OldNFPA99Certifier (anonymous) says…
Fellow citizens,
I'm getting to be an old fart in this profession and would like to share some general thoughts regarding the dental profession as a whole.
I have worked in Kansas, but do not inspect there now. I work in a midwestern state.
In the last five years I know of 3 new dental offices obtaining the required NFPA99 level III Medical Gas Certification. Meanwhile, I promise you hundreds of new offices have opened in my state without any nfpa99 inspection!!!
I have a very close friend who is a Dental Hygienist (you know, the person who cleans your teeth). My Dental Hygienist friend was going to work in a brand spanking new office a few years back. At her request I met with and explained the code requirements to the two young dentists.
I know every Certified Installer in the city. None of them got the job (too expensive). The med gas was installed by a non certified plumber. The two dentists told me "oh, its ok, we are sure it will be fine, we don't need your services". I said ok, have a nice day.
Three years later and these fellows are pulling in a couple of hundred thousand a year, EACH. Now, nobody was harmed by the lack of certified professionals in this case. Would you all care to know how much money the "fine citizen dentists" saved? $600 for my certification and about $500 for the plumber. A little over a thousand dollars would have prevented the completly avoidable damage to this young man. Society may forever be denied his productive life because the owner saved a thousand dollars.....
Now, I wouldn't be real upset if these guys did all the work to go to dental school and then got out, worked as hard as you or I, and pulled down a hundred and a half. No. These guys get stinking rich EVERY year and save a few bucks on legally required inspections and put all of us at risk. In the rural area I live in it is not uncommon for my dental hygienist friend to work for a dentist making more than a million a year.....
Shame on this profession!
And, this isn't the only case of complete disregard for safety in the dental "profession". A close friend of mine does CDC and NIOSH mandeted N2O testing in health care facilites. Have you ever noticed how many dentists have N2O? (oh, thats Nitrious Oxide for the chemically challenged ;-) Well, many dentists provide N2O sedation for patients. How many have the environment tested per cdc/niosh requirements? NONE.
Why?
Hospitals are allowed 21ppm (thats parts per million) of N2O exposure for thier workers.
I have personally been present during the testing of 4 dental facilities during N2O administration and the meter being used was unable to take a reading because it was over 200 ppm in each case!
Why so high? A couple of reasons, first improper scavange techniqes are almost universal in dental offices. Secondly, the Air Exchanges are almost never adequete to remove any N2O missed by the scavange system!
OldNFPA99Certifier (anonymous) says…
Do these folks makeing a handsome income care to spend a couple of thousand dollars to make thier employees safe?
Almost never in my experience.
If I was on the jury:
1. Dentist=50%
2. General Contractor=25% plus permanently loose business liscense.
3. Plumber=25% plus permanently loose business liscense.
The GC and Plumber must have known or SHOULD have known they were not following code. Either way they are not fit to do business in any community I live in.
The dentist at minimun deserves a healthy fine, and if you can actually nail the proof down that the guy is pinching pennies on inspections I would pull his liscense as well.
And as for the above comments regarding the delivery of Enflurane or Isoflurane, these are old anesthetics seldom used in a professional setting and I've never heard of them being used in a dental office. However, if anesthetic is in fact being used, (oral surgery perhaps) then this is a Level I care facility and there is no excuse for a level I getting an occupancy without a NFPA 99 certification. EVERY city in my state completely ignores level III care facilities.....if that is an excuse.
If more city planners understood the danger this problem presents, much good could be done at a minimal cost to society to bring new facilites up to proper code.
And, for the record, after knowing my Dental Hygienst friend for almsot 20 years and getting to know about 20 dentists in the meantime......I trust exactly 1 dentist to give me the care that is necessary without excessively padding his pocket. (oh, excessive means less than $100 in materials and two hours of labor for your average $900 crown.....good grief.)
Shame shame SHAME on most of you dentists!
OldNFPA99Certifier (anonymous) says…
Oh, my apoligies, I meant to say "inhalation anesthetic" above instead of just "anesthetic". Anesthetics are given in most dental procedures.
Providing an "inhalation anesthetic" which requres a ventilator, would automatically place the facility in the "level I" category.
N2O is considered an "inhalation anesthetic", but, as long as it is administered in a low enough dose so that a ventilator is not required, NFPA 99 would treat that as a Level III facility. Note the requirement for ventilation is the deciding factor on the differing levels of care in this instance.
And, if you care to comment, please feel free to email me at: jeoinaforest@hotmail.com
Truth be told, I'm a libertarian and don't think any inspections of any kind should ever be required by government. They should be optional services that some business owners may or may not see a value for. Would you choose to go to a dentist without a liscense granted by the state? Should be the consumers choice IMO.
Since we are all a bunch of socialists who adore big government, then hey, we should all have to work within that twisted framework eh?
All this government intervention and we still are not safe!
Think about it.