Media Advisory

TO                         News and Features Editors, PSA Directors

FROM                     UAF Fire Department

SUBJECT                Fire Department to Give Gruening a Bath

DATE & TIME          Friday, Sept. 26, 6:30 p.m.

In an effort to cut maintenance costs, the University Fire Department will be washing the Gruening Building Sept. 26 with 500-1000 gallons of water per minute.

Because swallows build nests each spring on the building's facade, each fall the building must be cleaned. In the past UAF has hired a private contractor to perform the costly clean-up operation.

"We train with the aerial (ladder truck) on Gruening anyway. This time we'll just be using water," explains Mike Supkis, the Fire Chief of the University Fire Department.

The clean-up/training exercise is tentatively scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 26.

CONTACT: Mike Supkis, Fire Chief, University Fire Department, (907) 474- 6303

RMJ/9-24-97/98-015ma