Statehouse bill would require dorm sprinklers

Not all Boston University residences are currently equipped with sprinkler systems, but that might change as Massachusetts lawmakers this month re-introduced two bills which would require all college dormitories and fraternity and sorority houses to have smoke detectors and sprinkler systems.

The bills are partially a response to a fire in a Rhode Island nightclub in February, which killed more than 100 people. Poor fire protection equipment was partially blamed for the deadliness of the event.

But BU officials say most campus buildings are already in compliance with many of the things the bills demand.

‘All our residence halls have smoke detectors and the overwhelming majority have sprinkler systems,’ according to John Weldon, director of Residence Life.

All of the campus’ high-rise dormitory-style residences and some of the brownstones and apartment-style residences have sprinkler systems, according to Weldon, and BU adds modern systems to every Bay State Road and South Campus building they renovate.

‘Any time we renovate a brownstone or apartment on Bay State or South Campus we install a sprinkler system,’ he said.

In Massachusetts, only 12 percent of all college dorms and fraternity and sorority houses have sprinkler systems, according to State Representative John Fresolo of Worcester.

Fresolo has filed two bills that would require all dormitories and Greek houses to have smoke alarms and sprinkler systems within five years. He hopes to see the bill passed within the next calendar year, he said.

‘After the fire in the nightclub in West Warwick, I think [the bill] has a much greater chance of being passed,’ Fresolo said.

There are many important factors that contribute to fire safety in the dorms, according to Weldon, and students have some responsibility as well.

‘I think it’s collective having appropriate smoke detector and sprinkler systems, having the equipment inspected on a regular basis and also insuring that students take fire safety seriously,’ he said.

There were several fires on South Campus last year, including one in an off-campus apartment which burned the building down.

And, though there are few serious fire safety incidents in the dorm each year, Weldon said, there are always far more false alarms and small incidents.

‘We do still occasionally have malfunctions,’ Weldon said. ‘Occasionally someone will burn something. In a large hall with the sprinklers, it’s put out almost immediately.’

Boston University has also been successful in keeping false fire alarms to a minimum, and any student who is caught tampering with fire safety equipment is sanctioned by both the university and police. An excess of false alarms can cause students to take them less seriously, and possibly ignore the alarms during a real fire, according to Weldon.

‘Malicious alarms are almost non-existent,’ he said.