The Jacksonville (N.C.) Daily News, reporting on a series of house fires in Onslow County, cites the fire marshal, Don Decker, explaining that
? it’s the homeowner’s responsibility to get the wiring checked by a licensed electrician. It’s not something the fire marshal’s office can do.
Fire inspections are required in homes used for foster care, day care, group family care or home-schooling, Decker said.
Actually, though, the law makes the distinction between a business, institution, or public accommodation, and a family?which happens to be homeschooling. The relevant statute is NCGS 115C-564, which was passed in 1988 and specifies:
A home school shall make the election to operate under the qualifications of either Part 1 or Part 2 of this Article and shall meet the requirements of the Part elected, except that any requirement related to safety and sanitation inspections shall be waived if the school operates in a private residence …
This did away with several petty nuisances, such as installation of EXIT signs over living room doors and paper towel dispensers in the bathrooms — which actually happened in the period before the statute was passed.?
(HT: Daryl Cobranchi)
