Thursday, November 27th 2008

By selma al-samarrai

     Former Brandon Hall residents may finally be re-united within the walls of their residence. One of the main determinants as to when Brandon Hall would re-open was the operation of at least one of the three elevators. The fire in Brandon Hall on Oct. 18 damaged all three of the residence’s elevators. Announcing the re-opening was a process that required a great deal of attention and work. McMaster’s team of staff, engineers, fire restoration specialists and technicians had to primarily ensure that the residence is livable in all aspects prior to announcement, and at the same time, they worked to reach that goal as soon as possible before December’s exam period.

     Andrea Farquhar, director of public relations at McMaster, explained the rising concerns among former Brandon residents as Christmas Break inches closer, since residence buildings are usually evacuated at that time. “Students were getting concerned about, ‘do I have to move out of the hotel at the end of exams and then move back?’ You want to limit how much time students spend moving because that takes a lot of time,” explained Farquhar. 

     Ever since McMaster officials and the Crisis Management Group have agreed upon the re-opening of the residence, the dates that allow moving back have been a great focus. Farqauhar explained that having students move their items back in any time near the exam period would not be possible since the residence still requires a hefty amount of work. “Say if you’re done exams on the 18th can you move your stuff back in yourself then? What we really understood when we heard from the experts in the building and the contractors is that there’s still lot of work that needs to be done throughout December,” explained Farquhar. Therefore, the final agreement in terms of students moving their items back in is that McMaster University will provide movers who will transfer student’s belongings to their rooms before the day of Jan. 4, when residents within McMaster will be returning.

     The moving back process will begin when the displaced students who are currently residing in hotels receive empty boxes and labels. They are required to pack in all the items that they will not be taking home with them over the break. Those boxes will be taken a to a secure storage area. Once all the maintenance is completed at Brandon Hall, movers will bring all those boxes, along with students’ items that have been stored in warehouses since the fire, right to the students room. Therefore, when students move back in for the second semester of the school year, they will only have to transport in their personal belongings that they took over the break. Farquhar adds that this process is carried out with a constant assurance that student’s academics are not hindered.

     According to Farquhar, the reason the university took the initiative to move all the student’s belongings is because having only one operational elevator will significantly affect the moving process. The consequences of using one as opposed to three elevators include inconvenience of using stairs or waiting for one elevator and the safety issues and the disorganization that rise from both. “If we were going to have students going in individually on times that we didn’t know, we were going to have to have people escort them, there could be health and safety issues because of the elevators. It is also easier for students because there’s only one elevator we don’t want students carrying heavy things up. Also, we want to move it in a coordinated way with the professional movers and then everything’s just there,” explained Farquhar.

     In regards to the maintenance that Brandon has received since the fire, a lot of changes have been made to appropriately cleanse the building of all effects of the fire. The maintenance included painting and re-carpeting of some of the areas of the building. Some walls and ceilings have also been sanitized. All furnishings and furniture have also been cleaned. In addition to that, blinds and curtains have all been replaced in the buildings, and all the mattresses have been replaced with new ones.

     Farquhar explained that the insurance company contributed to some of these alterations. “We worked with the insurance company on the mattresses and blinds. The building had to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. There isn’t huge damage all over the building but we want everything cleaned. So we worked with the insurance company [and decided] was it better to get them cleaned or to replace them and the consensus was, no its better to replace them. So curtains, again are you going to dry clean all the curtains or is it better to just replace them? So we agreed were going to replace them all. We worked through each of these things individually, They’re just steps [we went] through,” explained Farquhar.

     Other changes to the residence include the replacement of all the building’s smoke detectors, the inspection and occasional replacement of all heat sensors, and all exit signs have been cleaned, repaired or replaced. A complete fire safety and security audit is also currently being conducted.

     Farquhar added that even though Brandon residents seem to enjoy the spacious and different lifestyle provided by the downtown hotels, they have all been anxious to return to campus. “People have been really understanding at that point so I hope the balance that being back on residence and back on campus kind of offsets a bit that the students will have to wait a little longer.”

     In regards to the accumulated cost of all the repairs conducted within Brandon Hall, Farquhar explained that the insurance is covering a bulk of it, but the estimate is not yet determined.

     The second elevator is expected to start running by February, and all three by the summer 2009. Brandon residents are constantly receiving updates and timelines through direct e-mail communications.

Tags: Crisis management, Elevator, Farquhar