FSi was the mechanical and fire protection engineer for renovation and addition of fire sprinklers to Buchanan Towers, a 34,500 sf, 8-story residence hall on the campus of Western Washington University. Construction of an addition to the building, the Buchanan Towers Addition (BTA), was taking place during design of our project. The BTA project was led by a separate A/E team.
The University initially treated the renovation and addition as separate projects. FSi studied the options for providing fire protection concluding it was most cost effective to have a single fire service for both the existing building and the BTA. Our design eliminated the need (and expense) for the new water main service connection, and associated valving planned for the addition. FSi carefully coordinated with the designers of the BTA project to ensure their fire protection loads would be met. FSi also met and coordinated with the WWU Fire Protection Engineer, and the City of Bellingham Fire Marshal throughout the project.
Eventually, students in the dorms have to go to class. They can hop over to learn about beer at SPCC teaching brewery.
