Sixteen of the state's 255 public schools did not pass annual fire inspections, including half of the schools on Maui, education officials told the Board of Education yesterday.

Eight of the schools that failed the inspections corrected their problems within 10 days of receiving the inspection results, said Gilbert Chun, acting director of the department's business services accountability branch.

Most of those schools that have not corrected their deficiencies have not yet done so because the corrections involve work on fire alarm systems, he said. Requests for funding have been submitted, he said.

DOE spokesman Greg Knudsen said Konawaena High, Ho-noka'a High, Lahainaluna High, Moloka'i High, Moloka'i Intermediate, Kaunakakai Elementary and Hilo High have funded projects for fire alarm upgrades. Wailuku Elementary has placed a work order to fix an electrical panel and exit signs.

Ni'ihau School was not inspected, and 25 of the 27 charter schools were not inspected. Wai'alae Elementary and Kualapu'u Elementary were inspected and passed.

Fire inspections are conducted annually by county and federal fire inspectors between mid-October and mid-December, and identify fire code violations.

Board members yesterday also were briefed by health officials on issues surrounding pandemic flu preparations.

Dr. Catherine Chow, a Centers for Disease Control official who is working with the state Department of Health, said school officials should decide how to continue to educate children in the event of school closures due to a pandemic, and what role school cafeterias might play in feeding nearby populations if the need should arise.

Schools might be needed to serve as makeshift hospitals in the need of a pandemic, she said.

A pandemic planning workshop, with an expected 300 participants, is scheduled for mid-June, she said.

Reach Karen Blakeman at kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.