VV Utah Tech's Fire Protection System exhibited by Nance Hanson HansonA A recent fire alarm on campus elicited the question What kind of fire protection does have Jim Thomas instrument repair technician in charge of pneumatic controls offered to answer the question by conducting a atour atour atour tour of the facilities Most people Thomas said tend to think that because the buildings are mostly brick and other non burn non theres there's no cause for concern To some degree this is true However because of the great amount of carpeting and plastic in the buildings smoke is the primary concern Thomas explained that nylon and plastic products dont don't flame but they do burn and give off toxic fumes They also produce more smoke than wood products Thom Thomas s stressed that smoke inhalation not being burned is the primary cause of death in a fire The tour began in the basement of the Technology Building Each building has its it's own set of controls but because it is a rise hi-rise the Tech Building is unique A panel with indicator lights tells what floor and in which building the alarm has gone off The Taylorsville Department has an identical panel When the alarm comes in the chief knows in which building the fire is located An additional system indicates in which particular area of the building the alarm was tripped Some areas have heat and smoke detectors that are equipped with a light that is always on as long as the detector is in operation When the alarm is set off the light glows more brightly and continues to glow until it is reset A glance will tell which detectors have been affected There are also water sprinklers that will activate when the sensors melt at degrees The unique feature in the Tech Building is the hatch What appears to be a skylight in the central stairway is actually an escape route for smoke Intense heat rising will blow the hatch and the smoke will be drawn from the building via convection tion currents That is why during an emergency the central cen cen- stairwell doors lock automatically However the stairs at the east and west ends of the building are open and can be used to ev evacuate the building The actual fire-fighting fire system is called a dry system It is similar to the in built-in vacuum cleaning systems On the outside of the building is a fixture that the tanker truck can connect into This system goes all the way to the top of the building where it is possible for firemen on the roof to direct the spray down on the fire Thomas said that at the present time the Tech Building is the only rise hi-rise in the area and has been used for practice sessions by the fire department J