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MACOMB, ILL. -- New laws have been passed to help keep your college student safe while he or she is away at school.  Fraternities and sororities built in Illinois after January 1st will be required to have an automatic fire sprinkler system.

Along with greek houses needing an update, housing units in Illinois have to have a backup power supply for all smoke detectors that are wired to a building's electrical supply.

But what does this mean for your college student?

Nearly ten years ago a fire destroyed the Delta Sigma Phi house at Western Illinois University. Since then it has been completely re-done and fully equipped with a state of the art fire system. Now, it's a requirement for all new fraternity and sorority houses to have fire sprinkler systems in place.

"Obviously safety is important and we want to make sure that they're in a position so that nothing bad were to happen, and if it does, then they're well prepared for that," said WIU Greek Life Director Nick Katz.

But the greek houses on WIU's campus, are not owned by the university. They're privately owned.

"We will help the chapters working with the city, but ultimately it will be their responsibility to update their system," Katz said.

All of the residence halls on campus already have been updated with a new fire system.

"We have a very state of the art fire protection system. Our smoke detectors are tied into the electrical system. They're not battery operated here. Our system is more than just a fire system. We can use it in other emergencies whether it's a tornado, or God forbid something else," said WIU's Assistant Vice President of Student Services John Biernbaum.

So regardless of where your college student will be living, extra measures are being taken to ensure their safety while they are away from home.

Fraternities and sororities built before January 1st have until 2019 to install an automatic fire sprinkler system.  The law for housing units applies to facilities that are newly-constructed, Re-constructed, or substantially remodeled after the first of next year.