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According to a story from the Times Union, Troy Fire Department Chief Thomas Garrett recommends that the VCC be closed because it is in violation of the building code.  It has a road which is 10 feet wide (with 5-foot pavers on either side, making it 20 feet wide though grass can grow over the pavers).  Garrett says that RPI has “deliberately violated the New York state building code,” according to the TU.

Claude Rounds, the VP for Administration, says that the work was done to be more friendly to the environment.

Okay, now here’s the crazy part:

Garrett ordered firefighters not to enter the building in the event of a blaze, but would fight a fire from outside. Garrett also wrote to the state Office of Fire Prevention and Control to shut the facility. [Times Union]

That’s a problem.  This seems like it’s doing more harm to students than help, and that’s not what firefighters should be doing.  We’re no experts on fire safety, so perhaps we are misinterpreting this.  However, there better be a very good reason to order that firefighters aren’t allowed to help the students, faculty, and staff who use the VCC on a regular basis.

The tone taken by the Fire Department reveals what seems to be a general animosity toward RPI.  Garrett said, ” What college campus would jeopardize the safety of their students?  It’s totally unbelievable,” and “RPI wants to do whatever they want.  We all have rules we’ve got to follow”  [Troy Record].  The two organizations have a history — last year the Fire Department wanted to impose a fee on students.  This type of language cannot solve problems.  This attitude toward negativity will not help anyone and will certainly not make students’ lives safer.

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