Category Archives: Residence Hall/Dormitory

Sprinkler system helped college students evacuate from resident hall fire (Philadelphia, PA)

205 students and 5 RAs of Race Street Hall were evacuated from the building around 1:30 a.m. due to a fire on the sixth floor. It is unclear at this time what caused the fire. Heasley and Subir Sahu, assistant dean of Residential Living, wrote in an email to campus residents, “A fire occurred in Race Street Hall, causing fire sprinkler systems to activate. There were no injuries, and all fire suppression systems operated correctly.”*** Blog Editor’s Note – Please let us know what you think of the coverage by The Triangle and journalist Ainslie Rhoads, who focused on water damage rather than the lives and property saved by the automatic fire sprinkler system. ***

Sprinkler system controls fire in campus housing (Medford, MA)

At 2:30 p.m., a fire occurred in Sophia Gordon Hall. The fire started in a suite kitchen, setting off the fire alarm and turning on a fire sprinkler, which successfully contained the fire. The suite sustained minimal damage and no one was injured, according to Associate Director of Public Relations Alex Reid. An announcement was released from the University via e-mail informing the Tufts community of the incident. According to the announcement, “The fire sprinkler system and fire detection system, present in all university housing, worked correctly and helped to minimize damage.”

Sprinkler system controls university dorm fire (Fredericksburg, VA)

The University of Mary Washington dorm fire, which was confined to room 506, was caused when a coffee maker there malfunctioned, according to Deputy Chief Mike Jones of the Fredericksburg Fire Department. The fire was quickly controlled due to the activation of the fire sprinkler system. Officials safely evacuated students from Mason and Randolph halls.

Kitchen fire at college dorm controlled by sprinkler system (Philadelphia, PA)

A fire broke out in a fourth floor college dorm room late Saturday evening. According to House Dean Trish Williams, a resident was cooking, and a toaster had set off the fire. University Police Sergeant Lawrence Salotti said the building’s sprinkler system had been activated. All building occupants were evacuated, and there were no injuries.

University dorm fire was extinguished by sprinkler system (Salem, MA)

A fire that started in a residence hall at Salem State University is being investigated as arson, University officials said. Around 1:40 a.m., scrap paper and some posters caught fire in the trash room of Atlantic Hall, a dorm on the central campus, said Karen Cady, spokeswoman for school. The fire was quickly put out, and students evacuated the building, she said. They were let back into the dorm about an hour later. “The sprinkler extinguished everything,” Cady said.

Sprinkler system extinguishes residence hall fire at the University of Southern Maine (Gorham, MA)

A fire at the University of Southern Maine was intentionally set in a residence hall trash can around 2:30 a.m. on Monday. A sprinkler head in the closet extinguished the fire. There was no fire or smoke damage beyond the closet. Students living in the hall were safety evacuated and the dorm was reopened to students at 5 a.m.