Five fires have occured around the campus area in the last month, with the latest one at 198 E. Lane Ave., Monday. This has sparked concern and has revitalized an attempt to have a law that enforces sprinkler systems in off-campus housing.
The house where the April 13 arson occured that took the lives of five people met the city’s fire code and had several working smoke detectors but did not have a sprinkler system.
According to The Associated Press, other universities have passed sprinkler laws after large fires occured in their off-campus housing areas. For instance, in 1989, Boulder passed a sprinkler law after a University of Colorado fraternity house caught on fire; there were no casualties. In 1996 five people died in a fire at a fraternity house near the University of North Carolina that met fire codes there. Also, in College Park, Md., officials are trying to expand sprinkler requirements for housing near the University of Maryland.
The recent fires at Ohio State roused officials in State College, Pa., to recommend a sprinkler law to avoid similar disasters at Penn State. An ordinance that applies to fraternity and sorority houses is being considered by the borough council.
In Columbus, rooming and greek houses are required to have sprinklers, but only if they are going to undergo a thorough renovation. It is estimated that sprinklers are in about 20 of the 41 greek houses according to Andy Baumann, code-enforcement supervisor for the campus area.
A sprinkler law would be beneficial for the OSU off-campus area because it would help save lives by reducing risks. When there is an option to help lower the level of risk a person faces when there is a fire, that option should be taken. This is especially true in a campus area where most of the houses are old and the tenants tend to block exits and have many people in the house for parties. There needs to be sprinklers in large houses with several rooms and doors to save lives of people who may become trapped.
However, there are various practical reasons going against the advancement of sprinkers into city code. It is costly to add sprinklers to houses; the process can cost up to $40,000 per house and installing sprinklers may require structural changes – a reason why many have argued against a sprinkler law in the past.
But even though it is expensive to add sprinklers, the saying “How can a price be put on a life?” holds true here. Ultimately, it really is only cost-efficient in large housing areas – greek houses and apartment complexes. Also, greeks already have high house insurance rates, and discounts are may apply safety precautions are made.
Fire, intentional or not, is a tragedy that can easily occur, but have very high success rates of prevention and stoppage if certain measures are taken. We hope, this string of blazes will raise awareness of the fire codes, and additions can be made to include sprinklers.
