Fire-Retardant Paint Introduced in Campus Buildings

University Partners with Local Company on Fire Safety

Fire-Retardant Paint Introduced in Campus Buildings

More than 1,000 fires a year occur on campuses around the country, causing injuries, even deaths, and resulting in more than $4 million property damage, according the U.S. Fire Safety Administration. UMass Lowell is working with a local company to prevent such tragedies from happening here. Since this spring, the University has been using a new fire-retardant paint, called PyroTarp, made by Lowell-based Bradford Industries in residence halls and other buildings.

“The use of this paint within the University environment here has two primary benefits,” explains Richard Lemoine, assistant director of Environmental Health and Safety. “The first is that it provides further protection for life safety for all occupants in the University community. The second is that it also provides further protection to the infrastructure, our buildings.

“Many of our buildings, as many people know, date back to the early 1900s or late 1800s,” Lemoine says, adding that those structures are typically constructed of wood, and while they are equipped with sprinkler systems, there are computers, paper and furniture inside that add to the risk of fire. “By introducing a nonflammable, nontoxic paint into the University environment, if a fire occurs, it should minimize the amount of damage that possibly could take place.”

The fire-retardant paint project got its start in late 2006, when Bradford Industries brought the idea of using PyroTarp here to the University. A simple demonstration by Bradford representatives convinced Lemoine that the paint should be used on campus. First, a butane torch was aimed at a square of ordinary cardboard, and nearly instantly flames burned a hole through it. When PyroTarp was applied to the same type of cardboard, and the torch was held to it, the paint simply bubbled and turned black. Lemoine recently re-enacted the demonstration for FOX 25 News in Boston for an upcoming segment on college fire safety programs, showing how he could place his hand directly behind the piece of treated cardboard while the torch was trained on it - and not even feel the heat of the torch. The paint, Lemoine says, “reflects the heat and absorbs it.” It is designed to stop combustion of materials, preventing fire from spreading and limiting smoke, according to Bradford Industries.

“It only takes a couple of minutes for a dorm room to become fully involved (in a fire),” Lemoine says. After he was convinced by the PyroTarp demonstration last year, Lemoine and others from the University worked with Bradford Industries on similar demonstrations for city public safety officials and state lawmakers. As a result, the projec received the support of Lowell’s legislative delegation. Through this support, the PyroTarp program got its start in April with the painting of Concordia’s corridors and a lab in Pinanski. An additional $150,000 above University operating funds will go to further it this academic year. Before any PyroTarp was applied to walls on campus, it was reviewed by the Toxics Use Reduction Institute. TURI reviewed the ingredients in the paint to ensure that its fire-retardant properties did not pose a health risk, according to Liz Harriman, TURI’s deputy director. “We definitely didn’t want to bring a product into the University that was toxic,” Lemoine says. The University, he says, has an obligation to provide a safe educational environment and workplace, and by introducing PyroTarp here, the probability of exposure to toxic fumes, flames, smoke is greatly reduced. Going forward, Lemoine says, the University plans to use the paint in its entire residence hall program, both in corridors and dorm rooms. The PyroTarp-painted corridors of Concordia have the same appearance as a wall covered with typical latex paint. “Paint is generally used for aesthetics. We’re providing aesthetics and fire protection,” says Eric Ciccone, a manufacturer’s representative for Bradford Industries.

Exactly which buildings will be repainted with PyroTarp during this phase of the program is still being determined, according to Lemoine, but the focus will likely be on residence halls, wood and timber buildings, and laboratories with a higher risk of fire. The work will be done as such facilities are renovated or are part of other capital projects. Jerry Ryan, a foreman with Building Services, worked on the painting project, and provided Bradford Industries’ chemist with input on issues such as how to make it easier to use and commercially acceptable. Lemoine says he’s already hearing that other universities and colleges are interested in similar painting programs, adding that it’s an example of the important partnerships the University is forging, and how it supports local businesses.

“It’s made here in Lowell and part of our mission statement is to partner on projects like this,” Lemoine says, noting this one also offers a “clear benefit” to the safety of people and infrastructure.