By Michael Devine

A newly introduced bill in Massachusetts Congress could require all colleges and universities to use fire-resistant paint in residence halls.

The high density of students and the amount of electronics in residence halls makes them, as opposed to other buildings, a prime spot for such an initiative, officials said.

Peter Conroy, a maintenance inspector for Northeastern’s facilities department who has worked for the university for 10 years, said that, to his knowledge, the paint outlined in the bill has never been used on campus, but it’s been around awhile.

Peter Rizzi, Northeastern fire safety officer, said fireproof paint has proven effective in fighting fires because it slows the spread of a fire, allowing firefighters to have a greater response time and ultimately resulting in less damage and potential deaths.

“Basically how it works is the paint expands, bubbles up, providing an insulating layer against combustible substances,” he said.

The university currently uses a cheaper, environmentally-friendly paint.

Rizzi said the cost would be greater than what the university spends now, but, since the buildings would have to be painted less often, lower labor costs would keep the overall difference down.

Conroy said freshman residence halls are generally painted every other year but are sometimes painted annually, depending on the conditions.

Despite a potential increase in costs, Rizzi said he thinks it may be worthwhile to use the fire-proof paint in some buildings, but not all.

“In my opinion there are certain types of structures where it should be used, typically older wood frame structures, especially those that do not have fire sprinklers,” he said. “There can also be benefits in other places too, but is it cost effective or worth the additional amount? From what I understand, I don’t know.”

Rizzi said he is unsure whether there is enough concern to warrant the mandate on paint by the government state legislature.

“My feelings are, where it’s worth the money, it should be used, but in other areas we shouldn’t be forced to use it,” he said.

The last time a university building suffered substantial damage from a fire was in 2006 when the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution (OSCCR) offices in Ell Hall caught fire. Rizzi said there were no sprinklers or smoke detectors in the immediate area because the building was covered by a grandfathered clause protecting it from the current law requiring these provisions.

Rizzi said the university is constantly improving fire safety across campus, and that a modern fire alarm system has been installed in the new OSCCR offices.

“We’re constantly upgrading the infrastructure and extending fire protection into these areas,” he said.

He also said the university has plans to do a test facility in a small wood frame structure this summer and negotiate with the product’s company to better understand how the paint compares to the paint currently used.

“There are a lot of questions out there that need to be answered before we undertake a large policy change,” he said.

Although Northeastern has not suffered a substantial fire in its residence halls in recent history, fires at residences of students from other schools have caused officials to be stricter when it comes to fire prevention.

In early 2007, three BU students were killed in two off-campus fires, which prompted the university to raise awareness of fire prevention on campus.

Though things like this can happen, Northeastern students living on campus seem opposed to the bill.

Kamile Ivanauskaite, a middler economics major and resident of 337 Huntington Ave., said she was skeptical of the product.

“Personally, I think it’d be a waste, because I don’t think it would make a difference regardless of what kind of paint is used,” she said.

Nick Cantella, a freshman civil engineering major currently living in Smith Hall, said the fact that Northeastern is a private school should allow it to make its own decisions when it comes to the kind of paint it uses.

“I don’t think the state has the right to tell schools, especially private schools, what to do especially considering how expensive they already are,” he said.

Rizzi said he thinks it is important to focus on active fire protection rather than just passive protection.

“Fire-resistant paint is one more layer in a multilayer approach to fire protection,” he said.