By Fearing for fire

Two pieces of legislation pertaining to fire safety are scheduled to be voted on in the Massachusetts Legislature this month. The two bills, if passed, would require all residence halls in the state of Massachusetts to install sprinkler systems and smoke detectors.

In light of The Station fire in West Warwick in late February, fire safety has become a hot button issue and Massachusetts Representative John Fresolo, who refiled the bills this year, thinks the two pieces are likely to pass.

If indeed both pass, it will be NU’s responsibility to protect its students in a timely manner. The bills leave a five year window of opportunity for the institutions to install and implement the needed equipment, but it would be in NU’s best interest to lead the way and set the example for other schools to follow.

Thus far, Northeastern has taken responsibility to protect its students’ within the numerous residence halls on campus. The newer halls have highly technical systems which save time, and if necessary, will save lives if a tragic event were to transpire.

The older residence halls — many of them used to house freshman — do not have the same technical smoke alarms and sprinklers systems. This is not because the university is strapped for funds or because there is a lack of emphasis put on the older structures, it is because Massachusetts state law does not require buildings built prior to 1975 or smaller that 70 feet (approximately seven stories) to have such equipment.

Though grandfathered, safety is still an issue, and the horrific images displayed on our television screens after the West Warwick fire highlight this all too well. The fact of the matter is that NU has the ability to lead when it comes to co-op, when it comes to building large multi-million dollar research facilities and when it comes to housing the majority of its students on campus — now it is NU’s time to step up to the plate and protect the students in the older residence halls.

Taking the initiative and stepping up to the plate before the state of Massachusetts so deems may not win NU a national award, but it will allow students residing on campus to sleep well at night — and their parents for that matter too.

In so many ways, students invest their trust and their lives to the university. Our future, on a small and broad scale, is in the university’s hands. NU owes it to all of us to step up and advocate for fire safety, for the passage of House Bills 3025 and 3027. If the university can send its president and a busload of students to support affirmative action at another university to our nation’s capitol, it so too can push for a local bill that will effect thousands of students on our own soil.

This is NU’s opportunity to lead and to make a wave in the pool of colleges and universities in Massachusetts. Our lives depend on it.