Greenville Firefighters train at Burritt Hall

Published: August 10, 2022

Author: Kesley Gittens

Last month, over a dozen firefighters representing the Greenville Fire Protection District (GFPD) as well as one each from the Mulberry Grove and Sorento Fire Protection Districts, took part in training at Burritt Hall on GU’s campus.

The training allowed GFPD to develop plans for deploying the ladder truck in the event of a fire response at Burritt Hall, the largest building on GU’s campus. Additionally, the training allowed planning for a worst-case scenario where the western side of Burritt was unusable and had to be accessed through the Ganton Circle entrance to the residence hall.

GFPD discovered it would take approximately 450 feet of hose traversing four flights of stairs to reach the furthest corner of Burritt Annex from the Dallas Annex stairwell.

A team of mixed experience

The team was a mix of experienced firefighters with two of the GFPD firefighters being junior firefighters. The Junior Firefighter program plays a huge role in developing future firefighters but serves as a mentorship program for young people interested in a career in firefighting. GU Director of Community Standards and Campus Safety Shawn Foles said “We are blessed to live, work, and learn in a community with such caring first responders.”

When Greenville Fire Chief Denny Wise reached out to Greenville University Campus Safety about using one of the University’s buildings for their training, Foles welcomed the chance to help.

“Having the physical presence of the various firefighting apparatuses on campus for training allows summer campers, faculty, staff, and students to see how seriously GFPD takes the responsibility to keep them safe,” Foles said.” I was in awe of their education, dedication, and experience as I watched the desire to be the best at their craft displayed by GFPD.”

This training helps build partnerships between GU’s Campus Safety and Community Standards Office and local first responders that serve to not only improve their training and readiness but to improve the safety of GU’s students through a prepared professional fire fighting force.

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Special thanks to: Greenville Fire Chief Denny Wise and Brad Kessinger were instrumental in working with GU to make this training possible.

About Burritt Hall

Carrie T. Burritt Hall, also known as Burritt Hall, was built in 1922 as a means to board an increasingly large number of female students at Greenville University. Over several decades, the residence hall expanded and now includes an additional three wings