Residents can prevent fires

Ellen Ahearn / contributing photographer Sophomore Leanne Desmond checks the smoke detector in her dorm. Students are urged by the Office of Residence Life to check their detectors weekly.

The Office of Residence Life has a number of rules, regulations and suggestions to prevent fires in residence halls.

"State fire code requires that smoke alarms are tested on a regular basis," Evans said. "ORL has students take responsibility for this in order to maintain privacy. We believe that since our students are responsible adults, that they can manage this inspection."

The policy has changed for next year, and the university will be checking smoke detectors three times per year, according to Evans.

RAs inspect the bedrooms and suites twice a semester, and this inspection includes a visual check of the smoke detectors, as well as a check for any fire safety violations, Evans said.

"If [students] notice anything out of the ordinary, they are to report it to their [Resident Advisers] immediately," Evans added. "RAs have signs posted on their doors, on which students can report any trouble with smoke alarms."

Despite the smoke detector requirements, some students do not take them seriously. "I've never had a single resident ask to borrow the dowel rod to check their smoke detector," said junior Lisa Aikman, an RA in Wayland Hall. "When I was on duty two weekends ago, 'just for fun,' a resident stole a fire extinguisher, discharged it throughout one of the stairwells and dispersed of it somewhere still unknown."

RAs do three duty tours each night, according to Evans. On these tours they make visual checks of all fire safety equipment, including pull stations and fire extinguishers.

Each summer, the Facilities Management staff completes sweeps of all halls to complete maintenance tasks and inspect all fire safety equipment including smoke detectors, according to Evans.

Students are made aware of these requirements once they move into the residence hall. "My staff members and I had a few floor meetings at the beginning of the year and went over all the fire safety rules and regulations," said junior Farrah Khan, hall director of Shorts Hall. "We also try to enforce them whenever we see [students] around the hall. If there are major issues that keep popping up, I will bring them up at our staff meeting and let everyone know what they need to do.

"We check out the fire extinguishers on a weekly basis and have our mandated fire drills every semester," Khan added. "The residents here are really good about maintaining the policies and don't give us any trouble."

Each hall has three fire drills per semester that allow equipment tests and students to practice evacuation procedures, according to Evans.

Students vary in opinion on the importance of these fire drills.

"I think that all the fire drills aren't that necessary," freshman Kara Dillon-Totty said. "If you evacuated the building once, then you don't need to do it four more times. We get the gist."

Aikman said, "Fire drills are helpful. They aren't so frequent as to desensitize students to their importance, but frequent enough to keep the procedure fresh in their minds."

Aikman said RAs key into each room to check for fire hazards during fire drills. "It's important for residents to respect these fire hazard rules, especially since most don't regularly check their smoke detectors. Fire safety is common sense," she added.

According to Evans, candles are the No. 1 cause of fires in residence halls. She said well-meaning students, intending to make a quick visit to a friend down the hall, often stay an hour or more away from their rooms.

"If a candle is left unattended during this time, it can do great damage," Evans said. "It is very easy to forget that a candle is burning, or to place other items too close to the flame and ignite them,"

"[The state fire marshall] has indicated that we will need to make some changes in our policies for next year," she said. "He has asked us to forbid extension cords, which do not have circuit breakers. According to the fire marshall, extension cords are frequently misused and are a common source of fires. We will be changing this policy over the summer to be in accordance with his request."