AGF Goes to College

Find AGF Products, Earn a Shirt

Colleges and Universities in the United States have been on a steady growth curve for the last 20 plus years. And, while most students don’t choose a college based on the presence of sprinklers, higher education administrators realized the safety of their students was an important feature for parents and began to retrofit dormitories with sprinklers and advertise their installation. As an industry, Fire Sprinkler manufacturers, engineers, and contractors have benefitted from both the increased awareness and concern for student safety and the growth of higher education campus infrastructure.

But what does this have to do with AGF, you might ask? Well, as a member of the Fire Sprinkler industry and a parent of 4 children, I find comfort in knowing my child’s dorm room is sprinkled. We all like to think that our own children would never do anything stupid; however, we are less sure of their roommates and other dorm dwellers.

In the last 10 years, as my children have approached college age, I have had the opportunity to visit many college campuses. And, in an effort to make touring colleges just a little more interesting, I developed a game I call “Find the TESTanDRAIN®”. So far, I am batting 1000! Some were easy to find, like the ones in the central stairwell of the older dormitories at the University of Scranton (that had sprinklers retrofitted into them in the 90s), such as Martin and Leahy Halls; or, the collection of 4 against the ceiling in a stairwell in Torgersen Hall at Virginia Tech. Others, like a group of 4 in a back corridor of Joyce Center at the University of Notre Dame, or the ones painted to match the walls in stairwells in Wylie, Kresge, and Blau Halls at the University of Michigan, took a little more effort.

Now, going on a college tour can become a little adventure as you enjoy some ice cream at the famous Penn State Berkey Creamery, turn the corner in the stacks at the Wells Library at Indiana University, or roam around Fariborz Maseeh residence hall at MIT, and right in front of you, you discover a RemoteTEST® TESTanDRAIN®.

I still have one more to go off to college, so my touring days are not yet over. To change things up a little, I am thinking of expanding my search to other AGF products – spotting TESTanDRAIN® valves has become easy. With the introduction of our COLLECTanDRAIN® products a couple of years ago, higher education facility managers quickly identified the benefits of auxiliary drains that do not break and tell you when they need emptying. Soon after being introduced into the market, our Model 5400As were retrofitted onto dry systems at Philadelphia University and the University of New Mexico. They were also included in the renovation of Maverick Stadium at Utah State University.

After just returning home from the APPA: Leadership in Education Facilities Annual Conference and Exhibition in San Francisco, and based on the reaction of the attendees, I expect our new CORRinSITE™ and PURGEnVENT™ products will soon be showing up on college campuses throughout the country.

You, too, can get in on this game. The rules are simple:

  • If you spot an AGF TESTanDRAIN® valve, RemoteTEST® valve or RiserPACK™
    manifold on a college campus, take and send a picture (try and put something in the picture to identify the college), and we will send you a t-shirt for your efforts.
  • If you spot an AGF COLLECTanDRAIN®, CORRinSITE™ or PURGEnVENT™ on a college campus, take and send a picture (try and put something in the picture to identify the college), and we will send you a golf shirt for your efforts.
  • Send picture(s) to marketing@agfmfg.com

 

Enjoy the hunt! #whereisAGF