Wesleyan Fire Safety Top Story in Safety Publication

Wesleyan was featured as the cover story in Doors & Hardware magazine’s Jan. 2009 issue. Doors & Hardware is a publication of the Door and Hardware Institute, which aims to advance life safety and security solutions. In an article titled “Off-Campus Fire Safety: How Wesleyan University meets the Challenge of Making its Unique Student Housing Fire Safe,” the magazine cites Wesleyan’s Facilities for upgrading residential sprinkler systems.

Joyce Topshe, associate vice president of facilities, and Barb Spalding, associate director of campus fire safety, are featured in the article. Wesleyan allocated $5M towards sprinklers for a residence hall that housed 520 students; 17 off-campus wood-framed houses; and 23 buildings. The budget also funded carbon monoxide detectors and some new fire alarm systems.

The article mentions that in doing these projects, “the university learned that retrofitting a large number of buildings, on budget and in a short period of time, is indeed possible.”