Issue date: 3/13/09 Section: NEWS

Imagine sitting in a packed classroom when suddenly the fire alarms start blaring but there are no sprinkler systems to douse the flames. This is the problem in 146 buildings on campus, according to facility building reports.

The most recent fire on campus occurred when a fire broke out in the Chemistry Building on Feb. 26 after a motor attached to a vacuum pump overheated and failed, according to a Feb. 27 Daily article. The building has both a sprinkler and standpipe system.

"Only 33 buildings have some form of sprinkler or standpipe system installed, and we have about 179 buildings," said Charles Jackson, executive director of facilities. "You can assume that the rest don't have any."

The university does not have any current plans to outfit any older buildings except for the Biology Building with fire sprinkler systems, Jackson said.

"Right now, the new Life Sciences Building will be completely sprinkled because it's in the code now and since it will be connected to the Biology Building, we'll have to retro-fit the Biology Building with a sprinkler system also," Jackson said.

Administrators, however, said they feel students are safe.

"I do think students are safe enough with the fire procedures we have in place now because we have deployed fire extinguishers in the buildings as well as smoke detectors," said Monica Thomas, associate director for maintenance and operations in housing.

Students have mixed emotions about the lack of fire sprinklers in buildings.

"It makes me nervous that not many buildings on campus have sprinklers," said Lori Burgin, a history junior. "We need sprinklers in order to be safe but I'm reluctant to have to pay more in my student fees for it if that is the case."

Differing from the fire sprinkler systems in buildings, a standpipe system is a freestanding pipe structure, usually outside the building, to which fire hoses can be connected for water supply.

When most of the older buildings were constructed, it was not required to have sprinkler systems installed under the code, said Tommy Jones, an emergency services and occupational safety officer in Risk Management.

"Since the codes were enacted 20 years ago, it is now required that new buildings have sprinkler systems installed," he said.

The newer National Fire Prevention Association code does not require older buildings to be updated with sprinkler systems unless it's a "major renovation."

"It's harder to put systems in an already constructed building," Jackson said. "For the older buildings, we assess the risk of the building and if we thought the risk was sufficient or depending on the occupancy, then sprinkler systems would be installed."

However, most of the buildings do have some form of fire extinguishers and fire alarm systems that send a signal to a police dispatch in case of a fire, Jackson said.

Additionally, out of the 13 dorms, only seven have sprinkler or standpipe systems.

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