Tuesday morning, the Brunswick Fire Department (BFD) conducted a demonstration on the efficacy of sprinklers on Baxter Quad in collaboration with the Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Office of Safety and Security, the Office of Residential Life (ResLife) and the Office of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS). Two mock dorm rooms were set up, complete with furniture and decorations. One room had a sprinkler system while the other did not.

At around 11:50 a.m., a controlled fire was started. Once the sprinklers detected the heat, the fire in one room was quickly extinguished. However, the room without sprinklers burned completely, with a pillar of smoke rising into the sky. Deputy Fire Chief Josh Shean explained that while the BFD hasn’t held an on-campus demonstration for several years, events over the summer proved its necessity.

“This is the second time we’ve had the sprinkler demonstration here on campus. The last time was about six years ago,” Shean said. “Over the summer, we had three different fires here at Bowdoin College that were all in units that had sprinkler systems in them, and that helped us minimize the risk and the amount of time that the fire department was here.”

Shean also emphasized the need for timely evacuations in emergencies.

“I think the other important message that this demonstration shows is the importance of quick evacuation,” Shean said. “We saw how fast the fire grew when it didn’t have a sprinkler to protect it, or even just how much smoke there was with the sprinkler system. [That’s] why it’s important when the fire alarm goes off that we need to exit and get out of the building.”

Director of Environmental Health and Safety Charly Wojtysiak further described the goal of the event.

“[This demonstration was] for the students to get a visualization of what happens in the event of a fire, [both in] sprinklered spaces [and] non-sprinklered spaces,” Wojtysiak said. “Having that visual helps reinforce some of the items that the ResLife team, the Security team and the EHS team are continuously looking for in our residential buildings when we’re doing walkthroughs to identify fire and life safety issues.”