TheState System of Higher Education's Board of Governors today approved a plan aimed at requiring sprinklers or other automatic fire suppression systems to be installed in all of the residence halls on the campuses of the 14 state-owned universities.

The action taken by the Board calls for the development of a comprehensive policy on residence hall fire safety. Pending completion of that policy, System universities will be required to take the following steps:

· Prepare and submit to the chancellor by October 1, a five-year plan for installing automatic fire detection and suppression systems in all residence halls with three or more floors. Such action would bring the buildings into compliance with the new statewide building code, even though those requirements are not retroactive to existing buildings.

There are 147 residence halls managed and operated by the State System, providing housing for about 33,000 students. None of the residence halls currently is equipped with an automatic sprinkler system.

The State System has estimated that installing automatic sprinkler systems in every campus residence hall would cost between $25 million and $50 million. An independent study conducted by a professional engineering firm indicates that cost could approach $88 million if new underground water supplies would have to be installed and smoke detectors and fire detection systems were placed in every room.

Without additional support from the Commonwealth, the residence hall fees charged by the universities would have to be increased by at least $75 to $150 a year to implement a program to install automatic sprinkler systems in all of the residence halls. A student residing in a campus dorm on one of the university campuses currently pays an average annual room charge of $2,370.

A report to the Board suggests System officials meet with the state to discuss ways the Commonwealth could help alleviate some of the cost that would be involved in installing sprinklers in all of the on-campus residence halls. At least three bills related to the issue of campus fire safety have been introduced in the state Legislature in recent months. Two of those would establish low-interest loan funds that universities could use to help reduce the cost of sprinkler installation.

Once discussions with the Commonwealth are completed, a comprehensive policy addressing fire safety in both on- and off-campus housing should be developed, according to the report to the Board.In the interim, the report says, "immediate actions should be taken to minimize the potential for serious residence hall fire on System campuses."

There has never been a fatal dorm fire on a State System campus. According to information cited by the National Fire Protection Association, between 1980 and 1996 there were 17 deaths nationwide as the result of school, college and university dormitory and fraternity and sorority house fires. More recently, three students were killed and 62 injured in a January fire in a residence hall at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.

Each of the State System universities has active fire safety training and educational programs for students. Fire drills are held frequently and university police and residence hall staff are trained on proper evacuation procedures.

Every university has fire safety equipment to provide fire detection and early warning systems for building evacuation. Handheld fire extinguishers are maintained in the residence halls.

The Pennsylvania Fire and Panic Code requires manual pull stations on each floor of a residence hall, and automatic fire alarm systems are required in each building, but sprinklers generally are not required.

The State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth. Its 14 universities offer more than 250 degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. Nearly 350,000 System alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.

The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The System also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Kittanning, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and the University Center for Southwest Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh. The regional centers are part of the Educational Resources Group, which is responsible for coordinating statewide programming.