System Helps Students Rest Easier

Nov 1, 2003 12:00 PM

The University of Utah has chosen to install electronically monitored fire extinguishers in one of its residence halls.

MIJA Inc., Rockland, Md., has teamed with Trussville, Ala.-based fire extinguisher manufacturer Amerex Corp., to equip each unit with MIJA's En-Gauge technology to enable monitoring.

Seven extingui-shers were installed in the Chapel Glen residence hall, occupied by first-year students, where fire extinguishers have historically been a frequent target of vandalism. Discharging the extinguishers as part of a prank or removing them from their correct location to prop open a door were common problems for residence hall officials.

“Fire extinguisher-related vandalism is a real problem at the University, particularly in the freshman residence halls,” says Michael Halligan, assistant director of Environmental Health and Safety at the University of Utah.

The University has a total of nine million square feet on campus to inspect. Replacing monthly physical inspections with electronic monitoring represents a potential savings in labor costs for the University.

“Electronically monitored fire extinguishers help us greatly improve our fire safety program. Although we presently visually inspect all campus extinguishers once a month, it is not as foolproof a system as electronic monitoring. Right now, an extinguisher could be removed an hour after the inspection and we wouldn't know for another month.”

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