Udec Corporation

Historical Moment: 2007 Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia

An off-campus 64-unit building was destroyed by fire January 13, 2007. Nine residents died as a result of the fire, including three Marshall students.

Dispatchers were called to the scene of a fully-engulfed building at 11:02 p.m. The Huntington Fire Department rescued 24 people before the flames were extinguished.

The fire, which started at about 11 p.m., engulfed the Emmons Jr. building, and firefighters fought for hours to save the building. Their efforts were futile, as they had to stop combating the fire when they realized the building might collapse.

Since the third, fourth and fifth floors were collapsed and dangerous to the safety crew, firefighters brought in engineers to build support beams to allow them to search through the rubble safely.

An electrical engineer from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms investigated the remains of the building yesterday to determine the cause and origin of the fire, but foul play was not suspected.

Smoke detectors were not present in several apartments and fire extinguishers were only located in some hallways.

As a result of the fire, three of the nine that died are Marshall students. 12 Marshall students were displaced and forced to seek residency within university housing. Other students who were victimized by the blaze blaze went to live with friends or have moved back home.

Are you aware that not every exit sign, emergency light, or emergency light fixture is safe? Just because you can see an exit with the light shining, doesn’t mean it works with the power off.

UDEC’S auto-test is the difference between safety and Russian roulette with the lives of the people inside your building. Auto-test makes emergency lighting easy, but more important; it is the safest way to ensure emergency lighting is there when it’s needed.

UDEC’S Featured Product: Emergency Lighting Fixtures Accessories: Fluorescent Emergency Lighting Ballasts

The BAL fluorescent emergency Ballast allows the same fixture to be used for both normal and emergency operation. In the event of a power failure, the BAL switches to the emergency mode and operates one or two of the existing lamps for a minimum of 90 minutes.

Emergency lighting and exit signs are about saving lives. Udec Corp. offers powerful, safe, unique solutions with 40 years of experience of emergency lighting and exit signs.