A new Illinois law requires NIU to install sprinkler systems in its residence halls by 2013, and could cost NIU $12 million.

The cost for the work will likely be handed to students, said David Dunlap, coordinator of marketing and public relations for Student Housing and Dining Services.

Included in the bill that affects all universities in Illinois is the Fire Sprinkler Dormitory Revolving Loan Fund, which provides loans for equipment installation at low interest rates.

“Retrofitting the systems could cost between $3 and $12 a square foot, or about $3 to $12 million dollars for this,” Dunlap said. “Somebody has to pay for this, and it will almost certainly be our residents.”

How the bill is interpreted could cause other changes to be made in the residence halls as well.

“I have heard of some universities removing the doors on closets because ‘if it has a door, it needs a sprinkler’ was how the law was interpreted,” Dunlap said.

While the projects have eight years to be completed, the installation is expected to take most of those years.

“We are very much in the discovery phase right now,“ Dunlap said. “It will require one of the towers to be shut down for the summer, and we most certainly won’t get a whole residence hall done in the summer.”

None of the residence hall buildings have sprinkler systems installed in the rooms, Dunlap said, but they do have smoke alarms. However, Stevenson Hall, the last residence hall to be remodeled, has sprinklers installed in the kitchen and commons areas, he said.

“One reason we have not installed fire sprinklers is the construction of the buildings is very fire resistant,” Dunlap said. “All of the fabrics we use in the rooms have a very high degree of fire resistance as well.”

Other regulations have been put in place to help prevent fires in residence halls.

“Banning smoking, candles and cooking with open flames are among the regulations in place to control many of the causes of a fire,” Dunlap said. “Community advisers are trained in the proper use of fire extinguishers as well.”