The former “Undergraduate Library,” now called the Archives and Special Collections building, has been undergoing demolition and full-scale renovations for months, as it prepares to transition from a study and learning space to a storage facility for certain types of books and other documents.

F&S Capital Programs project managers Jon Hasselbring and Sandra Roesler have helped lead the demolition and construction.

Two floors had been gutted, including mechanical systems, ceilings and floors, and so were left with a few months of downtime over the summer.

So, while the place was empty, the Urbana Fire Department was granted access to train in a big, commercial real estate-sized building, something very different from the typical residential house or apartment call. Roseler and Hasselbring helped make it happen.

Firefighters used a team-rope system to keep track of their progress through a smoky building – accomplished virtually with special dark-filtered visors to reduce visibility. They got slightly more, let’s say, destructive too. They busted through doors, used a chainsaw on a metal bar, and sawed against actual resistance in this controlled environment. Charged hoses were used, meaning they’re full of water, although not used.

Challenges to the firefighters that came from the building layout including echoing against empty walls, meaning communication through headsets and with hand signals. To add to realism, the safety technicians asked participants to do regular accountability air checks, basically ensuring the safety of each team member at regular intervals. Huge columns also slowed progress, at times, with the sense of space and distance shaped by the rope connecting each person.

See coverage of this training event from the University Library.