Two fully furnished rooms being torched at UNC Charlotte Wednesday for class

The UNC Charlotte Environmental Health and Safety Office will host a “simulated burn” Wednesday, on behalf of students studying fire safety.

Students, faculty and staff can watch the simulation at 3 p.m., in Parking Lot 20, near Witherspoon Hall.

UNC officials say the fire is being set in conjunction with the Charlotte Fire Department, UNC Charlotte Fire and Safety Technologists and the Society of Fire Protection Engineers. The latter two are led by students studying Fire Safety Engineering Technology at the university.

The theatrics will include two mock rooms, fully furnished, and the fires will be set in trash cans alongside desks. One room will have a sprinkler system, while the other will not. The point, say organizers, is to show how quickly fire can grow out of control.

Spectators will observe how long it takes for the smoke detector to sound and the sprinklers to initiate and extinguish the blaze.

Members of the Charlotte Fire Department will be present to extinguish the flames so everyone has the opportunity to see the amount of damage an uncontrolled fire can do in just under two minutes.

This story was originally published March 29, 2017 at 10:12 AM with the headline "Two fully furnished rooms being torched at UNC Charlotte Wednesday for class."