Congratulations to Pi Kappa Alpha at Missouri! Sounds like great upgrades to the house and excellent new fire protection!
http://www.connectmidmissouri.com/ne...aspx?id=327838
Excerpts:
[I]. . . The newly renovated Pi Kappa Alpha house has 21st century fire safety equipment and the latest features that give better access to the disabled.
Leaders of Mizzou’s Pi Kappa Alpha house made these renovations for 2 reasons. They wanted their 1920’s building to be more competitive with Mizzou’s 21st century dorms. They also wanted to meet new city fire codes.
. . . Columbia has an ordinance that requires every Greek House to install approved fire protection systems by the year 2016.
Pi Kappa Alpha is the first fraternity to meet the requirements of Columbia’s new ordinance.
. . . Some of the fraternity’s fire sprinklers are hidden behind plastic coverings. Only sprinklers near a fire will turn on. A loud siren alarm warns everyone in the house when there is a fire. Alarms with flashing strobe lights warn the hearing impaired. The total cost of the renovations is about $2 million. About $100,000 of that was spent on fire safety equipment.
Mark Timberlake is a Pi Kappa Alpha alum and one of the engineers behind the upgrade of the house.
“In recent history, there have been some fatalities in Columbia as a result of fires that could have been prevented if there had been fire sprinkler systems in place," Timberlake said. "That would indicate that they are very important.” . . .[/B]