The University of York’s apparent neglect of the poor structural conditions and ventilation system in Chemistry B Block may have been a contributing factor to last month’s fire.
The fire, which happened on Thursday February 2, 2012, as reported by Vision, is believed to have started in a cabinet or fume cupboard on the upper floor of the building. After setting off the fire alarms at 12.45pm, 400 students were successfully evacuated from the building.
The damage caused by the fire left the Chemistry department with no choice but to cancel all scheduled lab sessions until the block reopened last week.
Freedom of Information requests submitted by Vision have revealed that the annual campus-wide Condition Survey of June/July last year highlighted a large number of concerns with the building. Problems included issues with heating regulation, ventilation systems and multiple faults with the emergency/fire-exit lighting.
The reports indicate the University was in full knowledge of the issues raised in the Condition Survey, which included statements such as: “Problems exist with the heating system regulation – needs to be replaced,” and: “problems exist with the ventilation systems and need to be checked for operation and also cleanliness”, although problems continued to occur. There are also multiple issues listed in a ‘Response Report’ which lists all of the issues the building has had to call out support for in the past year.
The Chemistry block is an example of a CLASP building, which stands for the Consortium of Local Authorities Special Practice. CLASP was a construction program conducted in the 1960s and forms the majority of the University’s buildings on Heslington West.
When the University was founded, buildings of this type were assembled rapidly. Among numerous other issues, the buildings are notoriously cold in winter but are prone to overheating in the summer months. CLASP buildings, when refurbished, are believed to have a “life expectancy of…15 years,” according to a study conducted by the Higher Educating Funding Council for England.
Chemistry B Block has been refurbished in 1992, 1996 and 1998. The University Press Office has stated that there are no plans currently scheduled for a future refurbishment or demolition of the block, despite stating in December that these CLASP buildings were in “urgent need of attention.”
Having uncovered this information through FOI requests, Vision shared it with Chemistry students in order to assess their feelings on the issues.
One student, who wished to remain anonymous, commented: “I don’t understand why there’s millions of pounds being spent on the construction of new buildings both inside and outside of the department when there are obviously fundamental and dangerous issues with the older buildings.”
Another expressed similar concerns: “The determination to expand the University, particularly on Hes East, may look good to outsiders, but for students it’s a huge problem. It looks as if there were tell-tale signs that something along these lines could have happened, but they may have been ignored. The University’s desire to look good through its expensive expansion elsewhere is leaving the students using the older facilities in difficulties, and in this case, perhaps in danger.”
The University currently lists on its website a total of £39million being spent on new accommodation and the new sports centre on Heslington East alone, despite the B-Block report. This is in the wake of the campus-wide Condition Survey, warning that the “increased demand for student numbers is placing extra pressure on the teaching space”. The Chemistry department itself is also having to expand in order to cope with the pressure of student increases.
The University claims that the department has now returned to a near-normal timetable, with practical sessions “uninterrupted” for students.
However, one second-year Chemistry student revealed to Vision: “They haven’t got the fume-hoods working, so labs will hardly be ‘uninterrupted’ as they put it. About 90% of our practicals need fume-hoods.”
University Press Officer David Garner commented on the issue: “The report by North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service into the cause of the fire in Chemistry B Block has not yet been received.”
He went on to say: “the £16.5million phased programme of redevelopment of Chemistry is under way. C Block – one of the older blocks – will […] be demolished to make way for a new modern building housing new teaching laboratories as well as research space for our world-leading Green Chemistry group which currently occupy B Block.
“This will allow decisions to be made about the future use or decommissioning of B Block.”
However, the official cause is yet to be identified by the Fire Service.
Is ‘ignorance’ that right word here. Surely ‘compancency’?
‘Complacency’ is the right word rather than either ‘ignorance’ or ‘compancency’ in my opinion. Big issue though, bad press for the uni and amazing to see campus media come out with something like this. I rarely say this, but well played Vision, well played.
Well that was embarrassing
some ACTUAL good reporting, good scoop
Fantasic reporting Oliver. It’s really good to see investigative stories like this in the student press.
Universities need to be held to account like other institutions.
Good reporting? Based on what the undergrads think they know, absolute bull most of it. Every chemistry department anywhere will have ventilation problems, and to be honest if the undergrads that moaned so much weren’t so incompetent as to have started the fire int he first place then there’d be no issue. As you reported, they have already invested in replacing the building but unsurprisingly, these things take a few years to build.