Opinions

Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008

Sprinklers a priority

Fire safety in residence halls has become a big concern for colleges and universities across the nation. Students at Winthrop University can be thankful school officials didn't just worry but did something about it.

Thanks to a 10-year plan created in 1999, all of Winthrop's residence halls now have sprinkler systems. That makes Winthrop one of the first of South Carolina's universities with older residence halls to have all its dorms equipped with sprinklers.

Wood-framed buildings on campus, which posed a more serious fire hazard, had sprinklers installed even before the 10-year plan was in place. Fire-resistant buildings made of brick, steel and masonry, however, were not required to have sprinklers at the time they were built.

But over the years, sprinklers have been added in all the residence halls. East and West Thompson were the last two dorms to get sprinklers, which were installed this summer.

Those who made sprinklers a priority nearly a decade ago deserve credit. At that time, fire safety in dorms was not the big issue it is today. Data from the National Fire Protection Association shows the number of fires in campus housing has risen dramatically in recent years, from a low of 1,800 fires in 1998 to 3,300 fires in 2005. From 2000 through 2005 there were 39 deaths and nearly 400 injuries.

Walter Hardin, Winthrop's associate vice president for facilities and management, put it succinctly: "Sprinklers can save lives."

We're grateful that the university made that a priority.