After fire, flood, employees' quick actions prevent injury, save money

AJ Barse was sitting at his Haggard Hall desk one day when he heard a pop, like a muffled gunshot, from a nearby office.

He got up, peeked in the window (the door was locked) and saw a laptop ablaze, smoke and flames billowing from the front of the keyboard.

Barse, an informational technology specialist with Academic Technology and User Services, grabbed a colleague and told him to call 911, then ran across the room into the Student Technology Center, alerting students and staff to the fire.

“I had this big grin on my face,” Barse says. “I said, ‘I’m going to put out a fire.’”

And once he got the office unlocked -- after a second explosion of the computer’s lithium-ion battery -- he did just that, training a fire extinguisher on the flaming laptop and quickly extinguishing the blaze. The fire was likely caused by an overheating battery.

Barse’s quick actions that day likely save the university thousands of dollars, says Lloyd Hungate, a maintenance specialist with Facilities Management.

“It could have been much, much worse than it was,” Hungate says.

Hungate also singled out Mark Price, an instructional support technician in the Biology Department, for his recent quick thinking in stopping a leaky faucet and obviating a massive flood in the Biology Building.

Working late one Sunday night, Price noticed some dripping from the ceiling. He tracked it to the floor above -- and then to the floor above that. Having traced the leak to a filtering station, Price had the presence of mind to reach under the sink and turn off the water supply valve, Hungate says.

“These are two young men who reacted quickly and appropriately,” Hungate says.

Barse, who was able to put out the laptop fire before the sprinkler system turned on, says it was all part of the job.

“It’s part of my job to protect our students and, as much as I can, the university,” he says. “I’m just glad nobody got hurt, honestly.”

Safety tips

Holly Woll-Salked, a safety officer with Western’s Environmental Health and Safety, offered these safety tips to help WWU faculty, staff and students be prepared in case of emergency.

Know where these items are in your work area:

  • Fire extinguisher
  • Automated external defibrillator
  • More than 1 exit route out of your area
  • Department meeting location
  • Persons with First Aid/AED training

Consider having these items stored in your work area:

  • Snack and bottle of water
  • Good walking shoes
  • Small quantity of any medications you must not miss a dose

Consider taking these trainings: