Money was appropriated by the Legislature in 1974 for construction of a State Fire Academy. Construction began in January 1975 and was completed and accepted by the Building Commission in May 1976. PEER auditors found major parts of key facilities either inoperable or inadequate for their intended purposes. The architect’s insufficient testing and research resulted in problems at certain facilities, particularly at the fire training building. The poor conditions also could have been generally attributed to the Building Commission, which failed to review and approve final plans and specifications properly, and the contractor, whose faulty construction already had necessitated major repairs.
The Committee recommended that the Building Commission require all undesirable conditions at the academy resulting from inadequate design or construction to be corrected immediately at no further cost to the state. Hereafter, the Building Commission should see that designed facilities meet the functional needs of the users in the most efficient and effective manner.
For a paper copy of this report, contact PEER by telephone at 601-359-1226 or by e-mail at reports@peer.ms.gov.