Many faculty and students are getting fired up about the newly-enforced building regulations in McComas Hall.
John Forde, head of the communication department, said Mississippi State University’s safety officer advised all fire doors be shut at all times during a building walk-through on March 4.
“We had a safety inspection, and we were encouraged to keep all the fire doors closed as much as possible. One of the highest priorities is to keep everybody safe because we have to do all we can at the university to take care of everybody on campus,” Forde said. “Any time you make any change, there’s always a little adjustment period, but overall, we’re just trying to follow what’s recommended by the university.”
According to Fire Marshall Mark McCurdy, the purpose of a fire door is to contain a fire and allow people to exit the building before a fire would have time to spread.
“The doors that lead into individual hallways and in stairwells, those are fire doors. A fire door is designed to separate what’s called fire areas, and they are designed to be closed all the time, but it’s a very common fire code violation,” McCurdy said. “People want to prop open their fire doors. Under normal circumstances you don’t think of it as a big deal, but if there ever was a fire, those doors could create some serious problems.”
In an email interview, Alicia Musselwhite, the safety officer who called the fire door violations to attention, said the requirement by the 2012 International Fire Code is not a new regulation, and the Office of Regulatory Compliance and Safety could prevent both a financial cost, as well as a cost of lives by keeping them closed.
“On an average day, over 200 fires occur in U.S. workplaces. Annually, those fires kill 200 workers, injure 5,000 more and cost American businesses well over $2 billion,” Musselwhite said in the email. “Unfortunately, there are dozens of ways for workplace fires to start⎯chemicals, electricity, flammable liquids, combustible materials, compressed gases, smoking, even poor housekeeping. We need to protect against all these potential fire hazards all the time to prevent the loss of property and life.”
Some feel, though, keeping the fire doors closed could lead to further dangers.
Mark Goodman, professor in the Department of Communication, said he is concerned students might get injured by someone opening the door due to the difficulty to see through the window to the other side.
“The daily problem is the fact that most of the doors have very small windows, so when they’re open, you often cannot see who’s on the other side. Considering that students come to classes in McComas by the thousands on a daily basis means there’s a high probability that somebody’s going to get injured when they get hit with the door,” Goodman said. “At the top of the stairway to the second floor, it’s already dangerous because the entrance to the doorway can only hold one person, which means the people coming up the stairs and the people going down the stairs are constantly colliding with each other. Now there is a closed door that pushes out into the staircase, so if the door was opened with enough force, it would seem quite possible to knock another student all the way down the stairs.”
Kelli Conrad, senior communication major, said she has already been injured in the week the fire doors have been closed.
“I was running late for class in a hurry in the stairwell that’s near the vending machines, and you can’t see who’s on the other side (of the door) unless you’re right in front of the door,” Conrad said. “There was a guy coming, and I couldn’t see him. He opened the door into me; it was startling and painful.”
Goodman also pointed out the building is made entirely of concrete, a substance which does not burn⎯only disintegrates at temperatures reaching over 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
“In effect, we’ve created a daily risk in return for some rather nebulous benefits should the concrete block ever catch fire. I’m guessing each student has to go through at least two fire doors to get to a classroom, which means four times a day going to class, they have a chance to get hit by the door,” he said. “We have about 60 to 70 percent female students, most of which can’t see out the window, and most of them could get knocked down the stairs if somebody just pushed the door open without looking.”
Goodman said he was also concerned with how the closed doors could infringe on how those students with a disability, such as a wheelchair or crutches, get to classes.
Micah White, assistant director for Disability Support Services, said his department usually deals with individual cases as they arrive for students who have difficulty accessing a classroom due to disability.
“Sometimes we have to get a classroom moved before classes start; we get it worked out with the registrar to move the class to a place that’s more accessible. You want to be proactive, but there’s only so much money to do things sometimes,” White said. “With an old building like that (McComas Hall), unless something’s needed or somebody’s asked, you usually wait.”
White said closing the fire doors could be troublesome to anyone in McComas Hall, but as a whole, MSU works hard to provide for those with disabilities.
“I mean, it’s an inconvenience for everybody⎯students with disabilities will be inconvenienced just like students without disabilities. It’s a little harder for them, but that’s something they’re used to,” he said. “They (students with disabilities) don’t want to leave when they get here because it’s so accessible; there’s a few places still struggling, but 95 percent of this campus is great.”