Fire risk mounts in Arizona prisons

[Catshrink]

Fire risk mounts in Arizona prisons

The potential for tragedy looms large at Arizona prisons, where each night more than 31,000 adult inmates and some 550 juveniles fall asleep in dangerous and deteriorating facilities.

For more than a decade, investigators have identified serious fire-safety issues at the state's prisons and juvenile correctional facilities. Fire-alarm systems are obsolete, broken or non-existent. Sprinklers and smoke-ventilation systems required by building codes have never been installed, even in rapidly deteriorating wooden structures used to house juveniles.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/...

The online article doesn't have the sidebar from the print edition that details some of the deficiencies such as:

ASPC-Lewis
1824 of 3269 smoke detectors DO NOT WORK!
52 of 62 smoke alarms DO NOT WORK!
The asked for $3,125,000 in funding for fiscal year 2009 to fix these problems and install a sprinkler system -- it wasn't funded. The lawsuits if a fire breaks out and kills inmates would surely cost the state this much in legal fees, penalties, and damages -- not to mention the loss of life. Oh yeah, they're prisoners, who cares (you should see the comments online).

ASPC-Eyman (Florence)
4363 of 4391 smoke detectors DO NOT WORK!
6 of 46 smoke alarms DO NOT WORK! and they need 13 more
The asked for $1,810,300 in funding for fiscal year 2009 to replace the fire alarm system -- it wasn't funded.

There are others, some just as bad, some not so bad. This shows the severe lack of responsibility of the Legislature. I can smell the lawsuits lining up.

Cross posted in AZ forum)

[Warpy]

1. AZ is lousy with conservatives

especially throughout the state government. There will likely not be any improvement either until a judge steps up and orders all inmates released pending bringing the prisons up to code or there is a massive tragedy.

I'm not taking any bets on which will happen first.

[Catshrink]

2. Lousy? Oh it's worse than that

The neoLibertarians in Legislative leadership -- and all the repugs I think -- have signed an agreement with the Goldwater Institute, a RW "think tank", not to raise taxes. Grover Norquist has prevailed in Arizona. Ideologues do not make good laws. The Leg is a mess and will stay that way until the voters wake up. I don't see that happening.

edited for spelling