By Tony Rutherford – Huntingtonnews.net

Frame interior construction has prompted occasional queries about fire at the two new Marshall University dormitories now under construction. However, according to State Fire Marshall Rudy Raynes, who has observed their progress approximately every other week, “from a fire protection standpoint, the students that will be staying at the [new] Marshall dorms are safer at the Marshall dorms than they would be staying at home.”

Homes usually do not have sprinkler systems, may or may not have a fire alarm system, but about 70% of West Virginia residences have smoke detectors. “It is estimated,” Raynes said, “that only 60% of them work.”

University housing as required by law undergoes annual sprinkler and fire alarm inspections. In addition, Raynes complimented Marshall for “keeping fire protection systems up and in operation.”

That’s good news especially at a school that lost students in the off campus Emmons Junior fire. In fact, concrete and steel did not prevent nine casualties. Depending upon how phrased, the Emmons Apartments met or exceeded the minimum grandfathered fire codes. Neither a sprinkler system or fire alarm system were required.

Marshall’s new dorms have utilized a “protected wood frame construction, which means all of the interior walls are made out of five-eighths fire code sheet rock. If a fire occurs in the building and everything works like it’s supposed to, it will stay in the room of origin,” Raynes said

Secondly, the building has “a NFPA 13 R sprinkler system in it. The living quarters and the hallway are sprinklered. The bathroom is not sprinklered, Raynes said, nor is the attic. “Each dorm room has two sprinkler heads in it. The corridor or hallway has sprinkler protection.”

Thirdly, each “building has a complete fire alarm system installed which is smoke detectors down the hallways and corridors of the building. There are smoke detectors in each sleeping room. The type of construction would contain the fire to the room of origin,” Raynes stated.

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