The department of Residential Life is making progress installing sprinkler systems in all the residence halls on campus, but it still has work to do.ResLife is adding complete sprinkler systems to all 16 residence halls. Steven Waller, ResLife director said there are only three residence halls, Evangeline Hall, Acadian and East Laville, open this semester without sprinkler systems in each room. West Laville, which has been closed since spring 2008, also does not have a sprinkler system.The University is installing sprinkler systems when residence halls are closed for the summer or for renovations, said Sam Territo, associate director of facilities for ResLife. Though many of the residence halls were not required to have complete sprinkler systems when they were built, the University is adding systems along with other major renovations such as lighting and ceilings.”Anytime we renovate a building, we’re putting them in,” Territo said. “This summer we installed an automatic sprinkler in Herget Hall. We plan to have Evangeline done by next summer.”Territo said the renovations to Herget Hall this summer included interior upgrades such as new paint and ceiling lights. The renovations cost $1.5 million, and the sprinklers were about $1 million.West Laville is undergoing major renovations this semester and will not have a sprinkler system for about two years, Territo said. East Laville will get similar renovations once West Laville reopens.”We’ll open [West Laville] and take down East Laville,” Territo said. Every student room will be covered — and with good reason, he said.In the 2006-2007 academic year, 20 college students across the nation died in fire-related accidents, according to Campus Firewatch, an online publication that monitors fire safety issues at universities nationwide. The 2007-2008 academic year to date has brought the deaths of 13 college students in the U.S., according to the same report.Territo said all dorms have smoke detectors. He said dorms also have fire extinguishers, which are checked twice annually and refilled every three years. Residents also participate in two fire drills every semester, Territo said. The first drill is training, so residents know what to do during a fire. The second drill is to make sure all students leave the hall and is often scheduled for night hours.—-Contact Ben Bourgeois at [email protected]