University compliance with N.J. sprinkler law will cost millions

The University is being forced to embark on an accelerated program of installing sprinkler systems in all dormitory rooms to comply with a recently passed state law prompted by last winter's Seton Hall fire that claimed three students' lives.

Under the new law, sprinklers must be installed in all dorms at public and private education institutions in New Jersey by the fall of 2004.

University officials originally had planned to install sprinklers as part of an ongoing dorm renovation project, which will involve renovating more than 35 dorms during the next 16 to 20 years.

But the state law's 2004 deadline now will force the University to install temporary sprinkler systems in many of those dorms during the next four summers.

Those sprinklers will later be removed and replaced with permanent systems when the buildings undergo renovation.

Adding and removing the temporary sprinklers will cost the University an additional $10 to $14 million, according to University architect and code analyst Bob Allen.

Pam Hersh, the University's director of community and state affairs, said installing the temporary sprinklers will be inconvenient and costly. "The four-year time table is a challenge, but we will do it. It's the law," she said.

Hersh said University officials would have preferred to install the sprinklers during the scheduled dorm renovations, but that she understands the intent of the law. "Princeton has always had an aggressive program for fire safety," she said.

Hersh added that the University has already spent $8 million on a new fire alarm system for all dorms.

Allen said the temporary sprinkler systems will cost nearly as much as the permanent systems that will eventually replace them.

"We've been estimating a cost of $10 per square foot for the amount that would allow us to sprinkler all of the main rooms in the dorms," he said. "Though we call the temporary systems throw-aways, they are nothing less than what we are installing normally."

The construction has been scheduled for the summer months to avoid interfering with students' occupancy, according to University fire marshal Bob Gregory.

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"Each summer we will fit a specific set of dorms with sprinklers," he said. "Four summers should be enough to get them installed."

The temporary systems, unlike those planned in the dormitory renovation project, will be partially exposed and not aesthetically pleasing, Allen noted.

"It just means that there will be exposed piping and false ceilings until the dorms are renovated," he said.

Some officials said they are concerned that students may inadvertently damage the pipes or hang items on them.

"We will have to get the word out and make students more aware of the hazards and the flooding that can occur," Gregory said. "Accidents can happen, so students should let housing know about a problem as soon as it happens."