Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 1978)
& for av; Senate' Vas event. e S'Qf '•selffor,, [ r Mark'll lS5 ° figurtj If fires blaze at Texas A&M... Jo fire drills — yet )orm evacuation plans set dgetwen tingw la t move !ct oursek, ; ^ ou mi; Uo be),, 1 “explai, Wussiy By MICHELLE SCUDDER Battalion Staff The Commons area residence Jlsare the only University dorms lit have a visual fire alarm system, extinguishers and evacuation k broad policy set by the Univer- l says each residence hall must ve a fire evacuation plan, a porta- fuestion a,*,fire extinguisher in each resi- 'estion Sat adviser’s room, and some type fire alarm system, either visual or taginninjible. senate ij TMs broad policy is applied spec- biHs that«ally to eac ^ dorm, ” said Gene i have sii|Mt es > security and maintenance ymade Jpervisor for the residence halls. studenisH"rl' e fire evacuation plan would 't. he said ■different for each dorm depend- ? dealt 011 w h et fi er ^ s an inside or out- y lljOoJe enrndor dorm, Oates said, h thennlP 1 ^ * ias to ^ x ‘ a different config- 'dentFedtr| a fi on °fdhe buildings; some were ^Mstudfj lj, t in 1911, and some right now lent. The; resident 1 Austin Sle- r rules preferred traditiou , whet I start «ili n said inn of $4Mj nade hfelrli ,500 oni senate, senate ition wtt tlie fe<b 3ld Main up in smoke in ’12; ither fires singe A&M’s past here you lid. "Ifv# y voted it proposal “The Commons area dorms are the only ones wired specifically for fire alarms,” Oates said. The fire alarms at the Commons are smoke detectores that activate in case of fire, the Corps area dorms and the North area dorms have audible alarms, which means that whistles are blown, or the head resident in forms the residents of fire. Tom Murrey, area cooridinator for the North area dorms, said a fire extinguisher is located in each staff room, or one for every two ramps on the North area. “If a fire occurs and there is any chance that it cannot he handled by an extinguisher, the emergency fire number is called, Murrey said. All campus residents are given a copy of a tire and emergency evacu ation route plan, and an explanation of what to do in case of fire or emergency. Glenn Ferris, area coordinator for the Commons dorms, said a 10- pound dry chemichal fire extin guisher is in each head resident s of fice, an extinguisher is in every re sident adviser’s room (two per floor), and an extinguisher is in each maintenance room (two per floor). Ferris said residents have access to the extinguishers since they are in the resident adviser’s rooms. “A disadvantage to having them in the hallways would be that people have a tendency to play games with them and expend the chemicals in side,” Ferris said. Although all residents have a plan for evacuation, Oates said fire drills have never been held. “Most students are mature enough and knowledgeable enough about the way that the residence hall is built, that there is no need for the harassment or regimentation of a fire drill,” Oates said. “With the types of small dorms we have at Texas A&M, it seemed as well or better to instruct students through a floor plan and evacuation procedure, rather than a fire drill,” Oates said. Ferris said there are plans to have a fire drill at the Commons dorms this fall. “First we wanted to publish the evacuation plan and gove one to every resident so everyone would be briefed. We plan to have one later in the semester,” Ferris said. Oates, who has been with Texas A&M 14 years, siad he couldn’t re call a major fire in a residence hall. He said one or two minor fires occur each year that have caused slight damage. Regulations against cooking in the dorms are designed to discourage fire hazards. Murrey said a primary concern is overloading the electrical system, which might cause a fire. By MARK BEATTY Buttulion Reporter tie last major fire of a structure campus occurred in July 1977 len a container in the basement rage area of the Memorial Stu- it Center caught on fire, accord- to the College Station Fire De- tment. The contents of the containers in- dedbooks, paper forms and mess ling to tab 1 trays which caused a considera- amout of smoke. Investigators not sure what caused the con- its to catch on lire. The center s reopened to students the next no formal damage estimate was de about the fire. nother fire occurred last July in a dining hall. According to a liege Station Fire Department port, a cutting torch caught the eling of a wall workmen were [moving on fire. Damage was re- rtedto be minimal. dPfjgyious to these two fires, the [last major fire on the A&M campus Happened on January 26, 1963, when the old president’s home caught fire. Investigators said the fire apparently started around a chimney on a double fireplace bet ween two sitting rooms. President Earl Rudder and his family were liv ing in the house at the time but no one was hurt.The house was located across from the All Faiths Chapel and Sbisa. The home was built in 1893 at an estimated cost of $4,500. According to documents from the University Archives, the old president’s home was described at the time it was built as “an elegant mansion typical of what “the well-to-do Texan built for his family in the gay nineties. The Victorian character of the old building could he seen by its gable ornament, highly decorated tower, and bay window. The elements took their toll of these features and in 1930 the porches were rebuilt which gave the house somewhat of a colo nial look. The building was first occupied by President Lawrence Sullivan Ross and his family. Ten other pres idents of A&M have lived there since. In May of 1912, Old Main was de stroyed by a fire which started on the fourth floor, the cause of which is not known. The loss of the build ing and its contents was estimated at $100,000. Old Main was the first building completed on the campus and one of two which met all the students’ needs for the first decade of Texas A&M’s service. Gathright Hall, which served as the residence hall, together wiih Old Main, greeted students for the opening of the Ag ricultural and Mechanical College of Texas in 1876. The two buildings and several faculty residences were the Texas A&M College for about a decade. Old Main housed all of the ad ministrative offices, as well as many classrooms. According to University Archivist Ernest Langford, valuable records were lost in the blaze “that could be seen 20 miles away. Less than a year earlier, the Mess Hall, which was constructed of brick, caught fire and was de stroyed. The November 11, 1911, edition of the Houston Daily Post says “the fire was a spectacular one, many coming from Bryan to see it. Students got on top of surrounding buildings and with buckets of water kept the roofs wet so that no other buildings caught.” The fire origi nated in the kitchen “where a vessel of grease on a range caught fire while breakfast was being prepared, and from this the hood over the range caught, spreading rapidly.” Three mess tents and supplies were sent from Austin to temporar ily accomodate the students at meal time. Old Main, an administrative office building and the first building completed on campus. burned down in 1912 $100,000. Photo courtesy of University Archives . Loss was estimated at Bonfire danger Tradition sparks debate over site By KAREN ROGERS Battalion Staff It just doesn’t seem right talking about Bonfire during Fire Preven tion Week. But as far as manpower used in enforcing safety procedures during the burning, maybe it is ap propriate. Bonfire, one of Texas A&M Uni versity’s most well known tradi tions, is where students and friends of Texas A&M “show their undying love for A&M” and their burning desire to “Beat the hell out of t.u.!” It is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 28, and will stand 60 feet high, says Robert Luedker, one the persons in charge of its construction. All of the College Station Fire Department, some volunteers and city employees will be on duty the night of Bonfire to insure that Texas A&M and the city get adequate pro tection from flying embers. Last year, Mayor Lorence Bravenec talked with Dr. John Kol- dus, vice president for student ser vices, about moving Bonfire be cause of traffic problems and the danger of surrounding buildings and houses catching on fire. Texas World Speedway was suggested as a probable site. Bravenec’s suggestion was op posed by Texas A&M students., Bravenec was not acting for the city council. “The students said they didn’t want it and that was that was the end of it, ” Bravenec said. He added he has no plans to bring the subject up again although he says he “still feels it is a mistake to put it there. “It’s hard to buck tradition in this town. Gary Halter, College Station city councilman and past chairman of the Bonfire committee, said he would have mixed emotions about moving the bonfire. He says that as a former student he understands the tradition, but if the fire were moved out into the county, the cost of the fire protec tion would be borne by the county. College Station does not charge the University for the additional protection. It costs the city about $2,000 to hire the additional man power for fire protection. The city has five fire fighting un its. All but two units are stationed around the Bonfire site, says Harry Davis, College Station fire marshal. Location of the units depends upon the direction of the wind on that day, Davis said. “Until the day of Bonfire, there’s no way to get an accurate enough weather report to know which way the wind is going to blow. Every thing pinpoints on the weather. Units are usually stationed at Duncan Dining Hall and the presi dent’s and chancellor’s houses, he said. “We give the University fire pro tection when we can. If it comes to the University or the homes across the street catching fire, I would say we would pull everything we could from campus and put it across the street,” Davis says. An 8-10 block area south of the Bonfire site is cordoned off to insure accessibility of fire equipment. Davis says volunteers with phone books are stationed at entrances Changing wind directions cause the most problems, Davis said. A strong north wind could send em bers into the residential sections south of the Bonfire site, while a south wind could blow embers hack on the University. A fire broke out on Duncan Din ing Hall in 1975. In 1964, several small fires and a major house fire broke out. A strong north wind blew burning embers into the wooded sections near Dex ter Street, which caused more prob lems. There have been no major mis haps since then. ‘Hawkeye’ watches for fires, intruders Bonfire, probably the best know Aggie tra dition, is held each year before the Texas- Texas A&M game so that Texas A&M stu- Battalion staff photo dents and their friends can show their undy ing love for the University. This year’s Bon fire is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 28. Big brother is watching you. Well, not exactly, but Texas A&M is installing a security system which with the aid of two sets of sensors will be able to detect intruders or smoke. “Hawkeye,” a short wave trans mission system which works on the same principle as the CB radio, has been installed in nine campus build ings. Sensors are placed in “engineered locations,” says James Presswood, University safety officer. He explained these were high value areas such as the Metzger gun col lection in the Memorial Student Center and potential fire areas such as warehouses. Should the sensors detect either an intruder or smoke, it sends a coded message to the University Police dispatcher and the emergency operator at the Physical Plants Building. It names the build ing and the location of the distur bance within the building. The nine buildings on the Haw keye system are the MSC, the Sys tems Physical Plants building, the Plant Sciences building, Beutal Health Center, Data Processing Center, Purchasing and Stores, the vet hospital, the golf pro shop and Heaton Hall. Because of malfunctions in the past, the police department used to send someone to the location to see if assistance was needed. If it was, the operator at the Physical Plants Building would send for the College Station Fire Department. “Most of the time they go on and call out the fire engines,” Russ McDonald, university police chief, said. “I would prefer they didn’t until they check. A lot of this stuff we could put out ourselves.” He explained that most of the sors caused by installation prob lems. There are plans to put 60 addi tional buildings on the Hawkeye system, says Robert Stiteler, Uni versity safety officer; but he adds he does not know when the work will begin. The original $80,000 contract with the Hawkeye system called for the system to be installed in 11 buildings. The system is not opera tional in two of the buildings it has been installed in. Stiteler says he does not have a projected cost for attaching the other buildings to the system. — Karen Rogers The Hawkeye sensor system is designed to de tect smoke and intruders in some campus buildings. Radio signals indicating the loca tion of the disturbance are sent to one of two receiving units, shown here. An emergency operator then acts on the information the machine emits. Battalion photo by Ed Cunnius