Several projects to increase fire safety in campus buildings will be completed throughout the spring and summer semesters.

The projects will update fire alarm systems in the Graduate School of Business Building, the McCombs School of Business, the Moffett Molecular Biology Building and the Flammable Storage Building.

“We chose to [update] the current systems in [the GSB, CBA, MMB, and FSB] because those buildings had fairly new fire safety equipment,” said Andy Adkins, project manager with Project Management and Construction Services. “It’s just a matter of updating to meet the current code.”

The first installation of the new alarm systems will be in the Moffett Molecular Biology Building and are scheduled to be completed in January. 

Another project will complete the installation of a new fire sprinkler system in Sid Richardson Hall next summer.

“That building was not originally sprinkled [when it was built] in the 1970s,” Adkins said. “[Fire sprinklers and alarms] dramatically increase life safety. It is a quick response for any fire incident.”

Adkins said some people have misconceptions about how fire sprinklers work. He said it is not like movie scenes where all of the sprinklers go off at once.

“The sprinkler heads have what is called a ‘fusible link,’” he said. “165 degrees sets off the head and when that happens the building will go into alarm.”