NewsLocal NewsIn Your Parish

Actions

UPDATE: Fire Marshal outlines process for TM Landry permit

Posted at 2:10 PM, Mar 07, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-07 15:12:40-05

UPDATE: Today, officials with the State Fire Marshal say there’s no change in the status of a permit request from TM Landry School.

As we reported yesterday, officials with the school say they’re moving in with the hope that school can resume on Monday. A spokeswoman for the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) said the permit application is still under review.

She also provided the following statement:

T.M. Landry officials are able to submit any plans for occupancy change and/or improvement projects they prefer. However, OSFM plan reviewers then determine whether those plans meet the requirements of the occupancy they are requesting. The OSFM does not grant conditional occupancy approvals. Full approval from plan review is required before a deputy conducts a final inspection of the plans that were approved to confirm they were followed as they should be. There is no cookie-cutter or definitive timeline on the plan review process as the outcome depends upon the plans submitted and the current status of the building. Our average plan reviews are five working days, not including any issues encountered and/or any supplemental reviews needed for fire alarm and sprinkler systems. The OSFM expedites our reviews as best we can.

So to recap, in order to occupy, a building plan has to be submitted, reviewed and released by OSFM plan reviewers, and then deputies have to make a final site inspection to confirm the actual building matches the plans that were approved following any work/construction that was needed. As we discussed this morning (3/7/19), that review is still underway.

As per our deputies’ visit to the 3403 Moss site last Thursday (2/28/19), the following orders were issued and still stand:

1) Citation to submit plans for review to change the occupancy at 3403 Moss St., Lafayette, La from storage use to educational use.
2) Cease and desist order for any construction on site.
3) A directive issued that no occupancy is to be granted until plans are submitted, reviewed, and released by the OSFM Plan Review division and then a satisfactory final inspection conducted by OSFM deputies.

ORIGINAL STORY: School officials with the TM Landry School are still hoping to resume school, in Lafayette, on Monday.

Board member Greg Davis said officials are moving in to the school’s new building on Moss Street while they await a permit from the state Fire Marshal’s Office.

As we reported last week, the school began moving from its St. Martin Parish location to the Lafayette location. However, the building didn’t meet state fire codes for a school.

School officials worked with an architect to request a permit for part of the building, while the rest of the building can be brought up to fire code, Davis said.

“The architects have submitted everything required by the Fire Marshal, and we’re waiting now for the permit to occupy the front part of the building,” Davis said.

A spokeswoman for the Fire Marshal said late Wednesday that the plans are still under review.

Davis said the school will be ready for students on Monday, but school won’t be open until the permit is received, he said.