A recent incident in Tahoe Hall brought to light the lack of smoke detectors in some buildings on campus, including buildings that house classrooms.

Mike Christensen, vice president of Risk Management and Environmental Safety, said that he wasn’t aware that there were buildings on campus that didn’t have smoke detectors.

Annette Montgomery, executive assistant to the vice president and CIO for Information Resources and Technology, was also not aware that some buildings lacked fire detection equipment.

The lack of smoke detectors left some students uncomfortable.

“It’s dangerous,” said Jennifer Anderson, junior criminal justice major. “It’s a little scary.”

“If you were in class, you wouldn’t even know,” said Patrick Veroza, senior business finance major.

Older buildings, such as Brighton Hall, Alpine Hall and Tahoe Hall, were originally constructed with no smoke alarms or fire suppression systems.

Last year, Information Resources and Technology and Facilities upgraded more than 20 buildings on campus in order to meet fire safety code. This involved installing smoke detectors in critical areas, such as electrical rooms and air ducts.

“All buildings on campus meet the current fire code,” Ron Richardson, associate vice president of Facilities Services said. “We updated systems on a building-by-building basis, and we addressed the most deficient buildings first.”

Due to funding constraints, some buildings did not receive smoke detectors in classrooms. Others, such as Brighton Hall and Alpine Hall, are slated to be demolished in the near future. Richardson said that he is hopeful that the demolition will occur in the next five years.

Richardson also said that there are ongoing plans to continue to upgrade buildings on campus.

“We have requested the funds,” Richardson said.

Derek Fleming can be reached at [email protected]