Excellent (But Costly) New Rule...

[DeltAlum]

After fires in a number of Greek houses, including one at my Alma Mater's (Ohio Unniversity) Beta House, this is a VERY good, but very costly idea. I know that some chapters would have trouble affording this -- but what is a human life worth?

In addition, three sorority women from Ohio U. were killed in the fire in the non-Greek house at Ohio State mentioned in the story below.

Bottom line, wouldn't it be great if all student housing was sprinkled?

By Anne Danahy
adanahy@centredaily.com
STATE COLLEGE - All fraternities in State College must have sprinklers in
their houses by Sept. 1, 2008.
State College Borough Council approved the requirement during a meeting
Monday night, according to council secretary.
"We'll work with them over the next five years to come into compliance,"
said Shawn Kauffman, Centre Region Council of Governments' fire inspector
and life-safety education coordinator.
He said there are 52 fraternities, 35 of which will need to meet the new
requirements. The other fraternities already have sprinkler systems.
"The concern is that the high number of people and large parties make them
high-risk properties for fatal fires," Kauffman said. Sprinkler systems
will reduce that risk, he said.
Scott Phelan, Penn State's director of fraternity and sorority life, said
there is support for the sprinkler systems.
"It increases the safety of all the guests in the houses and all their
residents," Phelan said.
But there is also concern about the price.
Estimates are that it will cost fraternity houses $50,000 to $75,000 to
upgrade to the required system, Kauffman said.
Phelan said the hope is that the General Assembly will pass a bill to make
it easier for fraternities to pay those bills.
"Our hope is that the state legislature passes the bill which would create
a pool of funds to borrow at low interest," Phelan said.
He said that, under the proposal, a one-cent tax on cigarettes would pay
for the loans.
Borough Council held a public hearing on the issue in July after 100 people
died from a fire in a Rhode Island nightclub. The day of that hearing, a
fire in Columbus, Ohio, killed two Ohio State students and three Ohio
University students at an off-campus home.

[33girl]

As it states they are trying to get a bill passed to help pay for these things. There have been quite a few hazardous fires at fraternity houses here. The problem is a lot of them are "unofficial" houses that are not sanctioned by the campus in any way, and those are the places that really would benefit from the sprinkler laws.

I agree that ALL landlords who house students should have sprinklers or some sort of fire alarm that can't be dismantled. A lot of the places are firetraps and the slumlords are too greedy to fix them, as long as they can get people to live there.

[Munchkin03]

This is a new thing? If it is, it's long overdue. Isn't MOST student housing sprinklered?

All residential buildings in Rhode Island housing more than one family had to be sprinklered more than 20 years ago. That included all dormitories, fraternity houses, and old age homes--on school had a terrible dorm fire one year that killed 16 people, triggering this state legislation, which was eventually extended to cover social clubs and meeting halls. Occasionally, buildings were grandfathered in--which is what happened to the club that burned down in February. All of the dorms at my school were sprinklered--when I was a Resident Counselor, the fire marshal came in to give us a talk--and at the time (2000), we were the only college in Rhode Island to have had all of the dorms retrofitted with sprinklers. Now, they all are.

[DeltAlum]

Originally posted by Munchkin03
This is a new thing? If it is, it's long overdue. Isn't MOST student housing sprinklered?

It's probably safe to say that most university buildings are probably sprinkled -- although there may be some very old ones that have been "Grandfathered" under new codes.

Most, or at least many, private houses are not, and, to the best of my knowledge, not many jusisdictions have placed this requirement on privately owned property.

Isn't it tragic that it took an event like the dorm fire to bring this legislation?

Some of the places I lived in college were definite firetraps. I'll bet a lot of them are still there.

[DeltAlum]

Yeah, generally what happens is that an older building is grandfathered unless and until it is remodeled, and then has to be brought up to code.

That's why you will find some older buildings that have been upgraded and some that haven't

[momoftwo]

Originally posted by DeltAlum
Most, or at least many, private houses are not, and, to the best of my knowledge, not many jusisdictions have placed this requirement on privately owned property.

Our neighbor (who's a fire fighter) is putting an addition on his home. To get the permit, he needs to increase the size of the water pipe from the street to the house. Apparently the village is considering requiring sprinklers in new construction and additions. Providing for extra water capacity is one step toward that requirement.

Changing the pipe is adding a lot of money to the cost of their plans!

[madmax]

I am against it.

The majority of people that die in fires do not die in Greek homes. Last year over 100 people died in a bar fire in Rhode Island. There are probably 1000s of people that die in fires annually. If this law is about safety then how come the locals don't make every business, bar, dorm, and home get sprinklers?

Last year at DeltSigStan's school the sprinklers went off by mistake. What happens everytime a sprinkler is accidentally set off? Who is going to pay for that?

[DeltAlum]

Originally posted by madmax
If this law is about safety then how come the locals don't make every business, bar, dorm, and home get sprinklers?

Did you read the rest of the thread? That's what a lot of people are talking about.

[Tom Earp]

What is sad, because of cost to build a new house, because of its member quota, we do not need a fire system by code!

Only 22/24 Brothers! I know it is an added cost, but I for one feel it is needed! Needless to say, I will do what I can to get it implimented into the New House!

If and When!