Bradford Industries, Inc.

1857 Middlesex Street

Lowell, MA 01851

Tel: 978-459-4100 x122

Fax: 978-459-2597

bobpliskin@aol.com

Tel:617-285-6261

eric.ciccone@verizon.net

Steve Hadik, Managing Director

348 Barley Neck Road

Woolwich, Maine 04579

Tel:207-371-1606

psmaritime.com

Bradford Industries, Inc.

1857 Middlesex Street

Lowell, MA 01851

Tel: 978-459-4100 x122

Fax: 978-459-2597

bobpliskin@aol.com

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.

By: Borana Greku
Posted: 3/5/08

Colleges would be required to paint dorm rooms with fire-resistant paint if a state bill aiming to improve on-campus safety passes on Beacon Hill.

The Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security is considering the regulation to increase dorm safety because more students than ever before are living on campus, Nick Puleo, spokesman for Sen. Steven Panagiotakos, a Lowell Democrat, said in an email.

“In these situations we see great numbers of people living in a relatively small area, and extra precautions need to be taken when accepting the responsibility to provide housing for so many,” he said.

The paint would increase student safety because it helps slow the spread of fire through a building, giving students more time to react and evacuate during a fire, Puleo said.

“In the instance of a fire, what we’re really looking at here — in many cases — are valuable seconds that could mean the difference between life and death,” he said.

To meet the bill’s standards, colleges would have to repaint all dorm walls with the new paints, he said. While the exact cost of doing this is unknown, Puelo said he thinks the cost would be minimal because colleges already must pay to repaint dorm rooms as part of annual upkeep.

“The bill asks them to replace their current products with ones more attuned to the public safety needs of students,” he said.

Boston University spokesman Colin Riley said he could not comment on the university’s position on the bill, but said administrators are aware of the new paints and are waiting to “see what happens” with the proposed legislation. BU has made fire safety a priority since two fires in nearby off-campus apartments resulted in the deaths of three students last spring.

The proposed law would not affect off-campus student housing, though buildings near South Campus owned by BU and private owners are often similar in structure and age. Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences senior Christopher Bickford, who lived in one of the off-campus apartments that caught fire last year, said he thinks mandating fireresistant paint is a good idea.

“I think the concept’s good. It would just make everything a little safer,” he said. “BU was very accommodating. I think the university did a good job, especially with the fires last year.” Bickford said he thinks the university effectively prevents on-campus fires by not allowing candles or other hazardous materials in dorms. SAR freshman Torri Gibson said fire-resistant paint would not necessarily make her feel safer, because dorm rooms are filled with other flammable materials. “There are so many things in a dorm room that could easily catch on fire, so I’m not sure how much of a solution fire-resistant paint is,” she said. Gibson said whether rooms are painted in the fire-resistant paint would not affect her housing decision.

“I’m going to choose housing based on location, availability and where my friends are living, not because a certain building has fire-resistant paint,” she said.

© Copyright 2008 The Daily Free Press

Download The Daily Free Press BU Article here

Phil Bass

Toll Free: 1-800-914-5554

Direct to Office: 510-337-9841

Fax: 510-337-9849

bayareapainting.com