Fire Safety Tips

These tips for college leaders are offered by Columbus State Community College (With campuses located in several communities in Ohio, Columbus State Community College was named #1 for Best Campus Security 2016 by the website BestColleges.com):

  • Safety and security design consultants should be retained early during design and construction for system recommendations.
  • A risk analysis of the building’s contents and risks inherent to certain educational programs such as aviation can determine the appropriate fire detection and suppression systems.
  • Designers and planners should consider best practice in occupant design which will provide safer and timelier evacuations, enhanced by integrated emergency messaging directing crowd flow via public address systems integrated into fire systems, smartphone apps and digital signage.
  • Just as Building Information Modeling (BIM) software programs have resulted in more efficient buildings, the evolution of Fire Dynamic Simulator software programs can lead to more effective fire systems in the original building design based on actual modeling of your proposed building attributes in the event of a fire.
  • The best fire suppression system is one that’s never used. Sensor technology is evolving — such as infrared devices that can sense even sooner when the potential for fire exists — sparing the college from property loss, water and fire agent damage, and continuity of operation impacts.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Florida District Completes Construction on New Leadership Institute

    Pinellas County Schools near Tampa, Fla., recently announced that construction is complete on the new Dr. Michael A. Grego Leadership Institute, according to a news release. The district partnered with Rowe Architects for the project’s design and with Skanska for construction services.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.

  • Architectural Power for the Modern Campus Landscape

    For generations, an outdoor classroom only required a textbook and a patch of grass. Today, not only has the laptop replaced the printed pages, the rise of agile learning has turned campuses into study halls with students listening to lectures and researching topics from quads, gardens, and plazas. The challenge for architects and facility managers is to provide connectivity without cluttering the landscape with visual eyesores or creating safety hazards with extension cords.

  • Moline-Coal Valley School District to Consolidate Two Schools into New Facility

    The Moline-Coal Valley School District in Moline, Ill., recently broke ground on a new elementary school that will consolidate the students and staff from two existing schools, according to local news. Robert Ontiveros Elementary School will serve as the new home for Lincoln-Irving Elementary School and Willard Elementary School.