Article: 49 schools don't have sprinklers

Of 121 public school buildings in the county, 49 don't have fire sprinklers and another nine have only partial sprinkler systems, according to data from the school system.

Officials said the schools are safe because they all have many exits and wide hallways, and they're built of materials that don't burn. Plus, the county has been putting sprinklers in new and renovated buildings for more than a decade - long before a recent change to the national fire code required them.

But they could be safer.

"In a perfect world, wouldn't it be safer if all schools were sprinklered?" said Battalion Chief Matthew Tobia, a spokesman for the county Fire Department. "In a perfect world it would be, but that ...

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