ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 7, 1996 TAG: 9612090049
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
MEMO: NOTE: Shorter version ran in Metro edition.
State colleges estimate it will cost more than $8.5 million to put fire sprinkler systems in high-rise dormitories where 7,000 students live.
Gov. George Allen has called the installation of sprinklers ``an urgent and critical need,'' especially in dorms where rescue ladders don't reach the top floors.
He said the administration is studying ways to pay for the sprinkler systems, including increasing student fees.
The Associated Press reported last week that 13 high-rise dormitories on seven Virginia campuses do not have sprinkler systems in student living areas. Twelve of the dorms are at state-supported colleges or universities. The other high-rise, at private Hampton University, houses 200 students.
Del. Earl Dickinson, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, also has said he considers the lack of sprinklers a serious matter that needs immediate attention.
But Dickinson, D-Louisa County, said Friday that general fund revenues will not be used for the sprinklers.
``Dormitories are paid for by student fees,'' he said.
Secretary of Education Beverly Sgro said the state colleges provided these estimates for installing sprinklers in their high-rise dorms:
*Virginia Tech, $5.6 million for five dorms.
*Radford University, $1 million for one dorm.
*Longwood College, $556,000 for two dorms.
*University of Virginia, $504,000 for one dorm.
*James Madison University, $450,000 for one dorm.
*Norfolk State University, $430,000 for two dorms.
Hampton University has not decided whether it will put sprinklers in its high-rise dorm, said spokeswoman Richelle Payne.
Sgro said the state hopes to make quick progress on the sprinkler issue, but she did not know when installation will begin.
``That's up to the institutions,'' she said
The lack of sprinklers in high-rise dorms invites a disaster, fire safety experts said. The dormitories have more residents and take longer to evacuate than smaller dorms, and some are too tall for ladders to reach the top floors.
All of the high-rise dorms are equipped with state-mandated smoke detectors and alarm systems, but they were built about a decade before the state required new dormitories to be equipped with sprinklers. Sprinklers are not required in existing dorms.
Since 1990, the state has ordered sprinklers to be installed in existing hospitals, nursing homes, adult homes and hotels and motels.
Dickinson said he also was concerned that budget cuts have forced the state fire marshal's office to stop routine inspections of college dormitories. The task largely has been left to the colleges.
LENGTH: Medium: 60 linesby CNB