Campus Firewatch

October 2000 Issue

©2000 Campus Firewatch

Off-Campus...Out of Sight, Out of Mind?

by Ed Comeau

On September 29, 2000 a fire killed a University of Pittsburgh senior.
Joseph Marcinek was majoring in psychology and was going to graduate
this spring.

The fire occurred in an off-campus apartment that had seven units. It
was determined to be an arson fire, caused by the ex-boyfriend of the
woman living on the second floor. Seven of the people in the building
were able to flee, but Marcinek, who lived on the third floor of the
building, was not able to escape from the fire. (See this month's Campus
Firelog for more information).

Across the country, in Berkeley, California, another fire claimed the
lives of a senior from the University of California and both of her
parents. In one moment, a fire that was started by combustibles placed
on top of a furnace catching fire killed three of four family members.
Fire officials were unable to determine if there were any operating
smoke detectors in the building.

In Franklin, Massachusetts, the apartment building where a student from
Dean College lived caught fire in the afternoon. An apartment fire in
New Brunswick, New Jersey displaced 20 students from Rutgers University.
A fire in State College, Pennsylvania occurred in an apartment building
that houses a number of students.

Fires in off-campus apartments are not an uncommon occurrence, as we are
seeing each month in Campus Firelog. Fire officials believe that the
number of off-campus fires involving students is a somewhat "hidden"
problem because these fires are not identified in the national
statistics as involving students.

What is being done to address this issue?

At the University of Pittsburgh, it was recognized some time ago that
the houses and apartments that the students were living in had some
serious deficiencies. "Parents were coming into Pitt and saying that
they couldn't believe the condition of the places (where the students
were living off-campus)," said Jimmy King, a senior building inspector
with the city of Pittsburgh. "They were dumfounded that Pitt could let
them advertise in the newspaper."

As a result, the university and city developed a program to try to
address this problem. A landlord could request a special annual
inspection of their property by the city. This inspection would be done
using the criteria in the property maintenance code issued by the
Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA). Once the landlord
passes this inspection, they could advertise their property through the
university.

"We would check each smoke detector, door closers, fire doors, make sure
sprinkler heads weren't painted over, that exitways aren't blocked and
that the fire escapes are in good shape," said King. The only problem
was that most of the landlords that did sign up for the program did not
have many problems. Unfortunately, says King, "it didn't hit the people
that it needed to."

"Most of the landlords are reluctant to bring in the inspectors," said
Robert Hopkins, the director of the housing bureau at the University of
Pittsburgh. "They have liked the fact that there is no inspection." Once
a property receives its occupancy permit, there are no subsequent
inspections unless a problem is reported. "I do about two to three
inspections a week" in response to complaints, reported King.

Unfortunately, according to both King and Hopkins, the program has died
off over the past few years because few landlords are taking advantage
of the program. "The people that have been inspected do it as a gesture
of community support. It has been good for small landlords to get
highlighted in the University system," said Hopkins. Once a landlord
passes inspection, the university Housing Bureau will list it as an
inspected property and be listed by the university.

In reviewing this list on Pitt's website, only three properties were
listed, which is a very small portion of the off-campus housing. Hopkins
said it is difficult to determine how many students live off-campus in
the immediate area. Out of a total enrollment of approximately 30,000
students only 6,400 live on-campus and there is a great demand for
affordable off-campus housing, according to both Hopkins and King. The
university is adding additional beds and hoping to change the
supply/demand ratio to a point where "the landlord will look for an
advantage," said Hopkins.

The Pitt Housing Resource Center does offer some guidelines for students
renting apartments. When reviewing the list of tips provided to the
students, out of 45 items, only two are related to life safety.

8\. Are hallways well lit? Are there fire extinguishers and smoker (sic)
detectors?

9\. Does the building have a fire escape? If not, where is the nearest
emergency exit?

While the University of Pittsburgh has taken some steps to educate
students who are moving off-campus, this is a group of students that are
difficult to reach. Providing the information and education to these
students once they move off-campus is a challenge recognized by many
fire officials. At Rutgers, where there are 17,000 students living on
campus, fire officials have their hands full delivering education and
training to these students. "It is virtually impossible to identify who
is living off campus," said Joseph Zuccarello, the chief of University
Emergency Services. "You usually find out only when you have an incident
and they come to you looking for housing."

However, off-campus may be where the greatest potential for tragedy
exists, as we have seen in both Berkeley and Pittsburgh. Developing
programs to reach out to these students and ensuring they remember the
fire safety education they were provided while living on-campus can
change some of these tragic outcomes.

Ed Comeau, the publisher of Campus Firewatch, is the former chief fire
investigator for the NFPA and has been active in campus fire safety for
a number of years. He can be reached at publisher@campus-firewatch.com

Fraternity moves into new house

At the beginning of the fall semester, members of the Delta Tau Delta
fraternity from the University of Illinois moved into their new
fraternity house. The building, when fully occupied, will hold 54
students and one graduate advisor.

In 1967, the fraternity's house at 302 East John Street was destroyed by
a fire that some believed to be arson, while others thought it was
accidental. The property was underinsured, and the decision was made to
sell it and purchase a house in nearby Urbana, according to the
Fraternity's advisor, Matt Wilson.

Recently, they were able to purchase a house located at 401 East John
Street. This house had been previously owned by the Phi Gamma Delta
fraternity since about 1915. The building, which had been built as a
fraternity, had a series of additions put on, one in the late 1940s and
then another in the early 1960s.

While Phi Gamma Delta owned the property there had been two serious
fires, said Wilson. The first one, in the 1940s, caused significant
damage, but the house was rebuilt. Another fire in the early 1960s
damaged the building, which "prompted the addition. The property has a
history fires, and they took a lot of measure after the second fire to
prevent any damage that would happen," said Wilson. This included using
non-combustible materials such as brick and stone in the construction.

The fraternity had a fund-raising campaign that raised \$700,000,
according to the Delta Tau Delta website. These funds were used to
renovate the building and install Ethernet wiring in the house. However,
the building was not equipped with a sprinkler system. When asked as to
why this was not considered, Wilson replied that it is "one of those
things that is not mandated...it was a decision that was made as a cost
factor."

According to the Delta Tau Delta national fraternity, the fraternity's
"aggregate value of houses (is) in excess of \$50 million." A Delta Tau
Delta endowment fund, the Loyalty and Centennial Development fund, is
used to "provide mortgage loans to house corporations of chapters
acquiring, building or renovating their shelters," according to the
Delta Tau Delta website. This fund currently has approximately \$4.5
million, stated a spokesman from the Delta Tau Delta's national office,
that is loaned out to chapters. The spokesman had no comment when asked
as to explain the reason for not installing a sprinkler system in this
occupancy was because of finances.

From the Editor

Berkeley, California. A senior and both of her parents die in a house
fire.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A senior is killed in an off-campus apartment
fire.

Thousands of miles apart, yet both of these fires show that the problem
of fires in off-campus occupancies is real and one that we have to start
addressing more aggressively.

Off-campus housing fire safety seems to be an issue that "falls through
the cracks." Statistics do not capture these incidents as involving
students-they are listed as another residential fire. At Campus Fire
Safety Forum I, everyone agreed that off-campus fires involving students
is a serious concern that is not recognized for the true dangers they
present.

Some schools say that it is not their problem-it belongs to the town.
The local municipality often doesn't have the resources to address these
occupancies along with all of the other issues that they have to deal
with on a daily basis. When one campus fire safety professional was
asked why they do not provide any fire prevention training to off-campus
students, his response was "I never thought of it."

So who should?

The University of Pittsburgh and the City of Pittsburgh made an effort
to address this problem in the past. Unfortunately, the program did not
succeed as hoped. I'm sure there are others out there addressing the
dangers through education and ordinances, but is enough being done? As
we see in this month's Campus Firelog, we need to do more.

It would be great to have sprinklers installed in all of these
off-campus apartment complexes and houses, but that is not going to
happen. What we can do is provide the education and training to these
students to ensure that they are aware of proper fire safety measures.
In my opinion, this endeavor can be done as a cooperative effort between
the school and the local jurisdiction-a further extension of the
"town/gown" relationship. By using the expertise of each organization,
we can ensure that we reach these students on a regular basis with the
right message.

We are making great strides in fire safety on-campus. We are starting to
make some progress with the Greek housing, although there is much more
to be done. We really need to start addressing the off-campus housing
issue so that we do not see more tragedies such as Pittsburgh and
Berkeley.

ACAP HOSTS COLLEGE FIRE SAFETY SEMINAR

by Dan Werner

Over 100 participants, representing 23 states, Canada and Puerto Rico
attended a recent fire safety seminar hosted by the Association of
College Administration Professionals (www.acap.org) in Tampa, Florida.

The two-day seminar focusing on issues surrounding residence hall fire
safety opened with Stan Clark, President of ACAP introducing the
facilitators for the conference. Daniel Benny, the director of Safety
and Security at Harrisburg Area Community College, located in
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania was first to address the assembly. Benny
presented an overview of the conference as well as speaking to topics
such as defining fire and its behavior, fire protection systems, fire
protection programs and a group exercise aimed at evaluating observation
skills.

Dan Werner, the director of the Office of Security and Safety at Kenyon
College in Gambier, Ohio followed by presenting five topics in the
afternoon session. Werner, in a discussion-based format, covered topics
such as the major causes of residence hall fires, first line response to
a reported fire, the \"crying wolf syndrome\" associated with fire
alarms. Fire drill procedures were also examined in this session. The
collegiate response to a reported fire and development of an emergency
response plan and dealing with the media during and after an emergency
were also a part of the afternoon session.

Ed Sullivan, the campus safety director at Middlebury College in
Middlebury, Vermont, led off the second day of the conference. Sullivan
explained the process of a campus fire safety assessment, fire
extinguisher testing and evacuation procedures.

Don Donath, director of education and training for the National Fire
Sprinkler Association capped off the seminar with an explanation of fire
sprinklers by touching on the history and development of the equipment,
different styles and types of sprinklers. Donath explained the
installation procedures, capabilities and limitations of sprinkler
systems and provided advice on what security directors and physical
plant personnel could expect when having sprinkler systems installed.

Discussion centered around the use of fire extinguishers in residence
halls, and the pros and cons of removing this equipment as well as
training students and college and university personnel in the use of
fire suppression equipment. A recent OSHA citation against Seton Hall
regarding the lack of protective clothing and equipment for resident
assistants was also discussed, as was the roles of student employees and
other non-fire fighting personnel in the event of fire also brought
discussion among the group.

Fraternity Chapter Distribution

How many fraternity chapters are there and where are they located?

Using the latest information (Winter 1999) published by the
North-American Interfraternity Conference, Campus-Firewatch analyzed the
location of fraternity chapters across the country. Please note that the
directory lists only the 66 fraternal organizations that belong to NIC,
and not all of the fraternities listed have properties on the campuses.

The state with the most fraternity chapters is Pennsylvania, with 454
listed at 55 institutions, which represents 8% of all of the chapters
listed. Running a distant second is New York State with 368 fraternities
located at 62 institutions, followed by California with 343 chapters at
41 schools. These three states, combined, represent over one-fifth of
the fraternity chapters in the country.

Seen Elsewhere

University Business Magazine

University Business magazine (www.universitybusiness.com) recently
published an article on fires on campus. Campus Firewatch was
interviewed for this article and is listed as a resource for further
information.

Morgantown, West Virginia

According to press reports, the city of Morgantown, West Virginia has
had a rash of fires that have been a challenge for the fire department.
Burning sofas stuffed with aerosol cans and mattresses doused with
lighter fluid were some of the incidents mentioned. IT was reported that
between September 1999 and June 2000 there were 135 street fires, 93 of
which occurred in a section of town that was dominated by students.

In response, the city council approved giving three more firefighters
the title, and authority, of deputy fire marshal to help combat this
problem. In addition, the city has taken a "zero-tolerance" attitude.
Seven people, including five students from West Virginia University,
pled guilty to setting fires.

In August, when school started, there were reported to be 20 street
fires. This dropped to six in September, and by October 6^th^ there had
only been one.

Murray, Kentucky

The trial of the man accused of setting a fatal fire at Murray State
College is being moved to another county because of the press reports
surrounding the fire. Michael Minger was killed in a fire on September
18, 1998.

Legislation Update

## Legislation

S 2100

College Fire Prevention Act

## Jurisdiction

Federal

## Sponsor

Sen. John Edwards (D-NC)

United States Senate

225 Dirksen Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

202-224-3154

<senator@edwards.senate.gov>

## Cosponsors

Senator Spencer Abraham (R-MI)\
United States Senate\
329 Dirksen Senate Office Building\
Washington, DC 20510\
Phone: (202) 224-4822\
Fax: (202) 224-8834\
<michigan@abraham.senate.gov>

http://www.senate.gov/\~abraham/

Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT)\
448 Russell Office Bldg.\
United States Senate\
Washington, D.C. 20510\
(202) 224-2823 (tel)

\(202\) 224-1083 (fax)

[Senator@dodd.senate.gov](mailto:Senator@dodd.senate.gov?subject=WEBSITE COMMENT)

http://www.senate.gov/\~dodd/

Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL)

364 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

\(202\) 224-2152 (tel)

\(202\) 228-0400 (fax)

<dick@durbin.senate.gov>

http://www.senate.gov/\~durbin/

Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)

United States Senate

506 Senate Hart Building

Washington, DC 20510

\(202\) 224-4744 (tel)

\(202\) 224-9707 (fax)

<frank_lautenberg@lautenberg.senate.gov>

http://www.senate.gov/\~lautenberg/

Senator Robert Toricelli (D-NJ)

United States Senate

113 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

\(202\) 224-3224 (tel)

\(202\) 224-8567 (fax)

<senatortorricelli@torricelli.senate.gov>

## Funding

\$100,000,000

## Facilities

Dormitories, fraternities or sororities

## Status

Referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions on 2/24/00. Still in committee and no action has been taken
since it was referred to committee.

Summary\
Authorizes appropriations for competitive grants to help provide fire
sprinkler systems in student housing and dormitories.

Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award such grants to States,
private or public colleges or universities, fraternities, or sororities
to assist them in providing such systems.

Requires grant recipients to provide matching funds equal to at least
one-half of project costs.

Directs the Comptroller General to gather, and report to Congress, data
on the number of college and university housing facilities and
dormitories that have and do not have fire sprinkler systems and other
forms of built-in fire protection mechanisms.

## Legislation

S 2108

HR 3895

Campus Fire Safety Right to Know Act

## Jurisdiction

Federal

## Sponsors

Senator Robert Toricelli (D-NJ)

United States Senate

113 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

\(202\) 224-3224 (tel)

\(202\) 224-8567 (fax)

<senatortorricelli@torricelli.senate.gov>

Representative Bill Pascrell

1722 Longworth Building (HOB)

Washington, DC 20515

\(202\) 225-5751 (tel)

\(202\) 225-5782 (fax)

bill.pascrell@mail.house.gov

## Funding

N/A

## Facilities

Campuses nationwide

## Status

Referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions on 2/28/00.

Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on
3/9/00.

## 

## Summary

## 

## Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require each eligible institution participating in any program under title IV (Student Assistance) to: (1) prepare, publish, and distribute to all current students and employees, and to any applicant for enrollment or employment upon request, an annual fire safety report which discloses specified types of information about that institution\'s campus fire safety standards and practices; (2) make timely reports to the campus community on fires that are reported to local fire departments and the incidence of false fire alarms on campus, to aid in preventing similar occurrences; (3) maintain a log recording all fires reported to local fire departments and all false fire alarms, open to public inspection except where disclosure of such information is prohibited by law; and (4) submit annually to the Secretary of Education a copy of statistics on campus occurrences of fires and false fire alarms. 

Directs the Secretary to: (1) review such statistics; (2) make copies
available to the public; (3) identify exemplary fire safety policies,
procedures, and practices, and disseminate information concerning those
policies, procedures, and practices that have proven effective in the
reduction of campus fires; and (4) report to the Congress analyses of
the current status of fire safety systems in college and university
facilities, and of the appropriate fire safety standards to apply to
these facilities, as well as cost estimates and recommendations.

## Legislation

S 2178

HR 3831

Fire Safe Dorm Act of 2000

## Jurisdiction

Federal

Sponsors

Senator Frank Lautenberg

United States Senate

506 Senate Hart Building

Washington, DC 20510

\(202\) 224-4744 (tel)

\(202\) 224-9707 (fax)

<frank_lautenberg@lautenberg.senate.gov>

<http://www.senate.gov/~lautenberg/>

http://www.senate.gov/\~torricelli/

Representative Carolyn Maloney

2430 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

\(202\) 225-7944 (tel)

\(202\) 225-4709 (fax)

<rep.carolyn.maloney@mail.house.gov>

http://www.house.gov/maloney/

## Funding

N/A

## Facilities

Campuses nationwide

## Status

Referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions on 3/2/00. Still in committee and no action has been taken.

Referred to the House Subcommittee on Basic Research on 3/9/00. Still in
committee.

Summary

The objective of this bill is to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965
to require colleges and universities to disclose to students and their
parents the incidents of fires in dormitories, and their plans to reduce
fire safety hazards in dormitories, to require the United States Fire
Administration to establish fire safety standards for dormitories, and
for other purposes.

## Legislation

HR 4504

Higher Education Technical Amendments of 2000

## Jurisdiction

Federal

## Sponsor

Representative Buck McKeon

2242 Rayburn HOB\
Washington D.C. 20515\
(202) 225-1956 (tel)\
(202) 226-0683 (fax)

<tellbuck@mail.house.gov>

http://www.house.gov/mckeon/

## Funding

N/A

## Facilities

Campuses nationwide

## Status

Referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions on 6/13/00. Still in committee and no action has been taken.

## Summary

This legislation has several amendments attached to it pertaining to
campus fire safety. They include providing a description of campus fire
safety features, reports on the number of fires and false alarms, and an
analysis of current fire safety systems and plans for upgrading fire
protection.

## Legislation

HB 2458

Dormitory Automatic Sprinkler Act

## Jurisdiction

Pennsylvania

## Sponsors

Representative Michael McGeehan

221B South Office

Harrisburg, PA 17120

\(717\) 772-4029 (tel)

<mcgeehan@pahouse.net>

www.pahouse.net/McGeehan/index.htm

Funding

\$100,000,000

## Facilities

Dormitories and Greek housing

## Status

On October 11, this legislation was passed by the House on a vote of 190
to 1. It now moves to the state Senate for action.

Summary

Representative Michael McGeehan introduced House Bill 2458, the
Dormitory Automatic Sprinkler Act, on April 11, 2000. This bill calls
for the installation of sprinklers in all new dormitories, existing
dormitories and Greek housing within five years. It proposes the
appropriation of \$100,000,000 to fund a sprinkler loan fund for low
interest loans.

September 12, 2000

University of Minnesota

Minneapolis, MN

Campus Firewatch obtained the following information from media reports,
official sources and interviews.

An unattended candle started a fire in Roy Wilkins Hall. At
approximately 11:00 p.m., a student was passing by the building and
heard a smoke detector sounding. He activated the manual pull station,
which alerted the occupants of the building.

According to university officials, the fire was started by an unattended
candle on a coffee table in one of the apartments. The fire damage was
limited to the coffee table, with smoke damage in the apartment. The
unit was unoccupied at the time of the fire.

The building is a four-story, non-combustible structure with 74 units
that are a mixture of one- and two-bedroom and efficiency apartments. It
is equipped with a sprinkler system in all of the units. The building is
also equipped with smoke detectors, but details on the system were not
available. The capacity of the building is 137 people.

Candles are not permitted in the residences.

September 18, 2000

Rutgers University

New Brunswick, NJ

A small explosion and fire occurred in a classroom building at 6:00 p.m.
The incident occurred in a laboratory in Boyden Hall, and was attributed
to a buildup of hydrogen that leaked from a piece of apparatus.

September 21, 2000

Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College

Miami, OK

A fire that destroyed a building used as an intramural gym and music
hall was caused by sparks from a welding operation.

September 21, 2000 (follow-up)

University of California

Berkeley, CA

The fire that killed a university senior and her parents was determined
to be accidental. The off-campus fire occurred in a rental house that
the student was moving into at the time of the fire. According to press
reports, the fire was caused when combustible material was left on a
floor furnace. Investigators were unable to determine if smoke detectors
were present or not in the structure at the time of the fire.

September 25, 2000

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Madison, WI

A female student was charged with arson in connection with a fire at the
Eagle Heights apartment building. According to press reports, she
started the fire in her apartment as a suicide attempt, but abandoned
the attempt and fled the apartment. Damage was limited to the apartment
of origin and was estimated to be approximately \$40,000. The apartment
building had 12 units.

September 26, 2000

Brown University

Providence, RI

A candle in Emery Hall at Brown University, Rhode Island, ignited a
student\'s books and papers on fire. She had left the candle burning
when she went to sleep, and was woken when the room\'s smoke detector
was activated. The student was treated for second degree burns.

September 27, 2000

Ithaca College

Ithaca, NY

A fire in the kitchen of a dining facility forced the evacuation of 700
students from the dining facility and two adjacent residence halls. The
fire damage was limited to the grill area and ductwork. The fire
occurred at 6:41 p.m., and students were allowed to return to their
rooms at approximately 11:30 p.m.

September 29, 2000

University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, PA

Campus Firewatch obtained the following information from media reports,
official sources and interviews.

A student was killed in an off-campus house fire that was determined to
be arson.

The fire was reported at 6:36 a.m. to the Pittsburgh Fire Department.

The fire was started on the second floor in the apartment by the
ex-boyfriend of the occupant, who was not home at the time of the fire.
It was reported that there were eight people in the three-story building
at the time of the fire. All, except for the student on the third floor,
were able to escape from the building. The cause of death for the
occupant on the third floor was smoke inhalation.

The building was equipped with smoke detectors, some of which were
hardwired and some were single-station, battery-powered. Officials
reported that some were not operational at the time of the fire,
although it is unknown which ones did not operate.

(See the related story in this issue of Campus Firewatch for more
details.)

September 29, 2000

University of Pennsylvania

State College, PA

A fire in an off-campus apartment building was contained to the kitchen
of a second floor apartment, with significant heat and smoke damage
throughout the unit. According to Tim Knisely, senior fire and housing
inspector for the Centre Region Code Administration, the area of origin
was the trashcan. It was detected by the automatic detection system. The
building was a three-story, non-combustible, unsprinklered building that
housed a number of students.

October 5, 2000

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI

A fire occurred in the University of Michigan University Hospital's
waste incinerator. The incinerator was being dismantled when the fire
occurred. The fire was confined to the incinerator.

October 6, 2000

Tennessee Tech University

Cookeville, TN

Campus Firewatch obtained the following information from media reports,
official sources and interviews.

A fire in a three story, wood-frame fraternity destroyed the second and
third stories of the building in an early morning fire.

According to fire officials, the alarm was called in at 5:28 a.m. A
female witness is reported to have heard a smoke detector activating,
and upon investigation found a fire in the room. She woke the occupants
of the room, who then escaped.

Upon arrival, the fire department reported that there was fire on the
second floor. Several students had climbed out on the roof of the
building from the second floor that had to be rescued by ladders. Some
of the occupants had jumped out of the building from windows on the
second floor, while the occupants of the third floor had come down the
single interior open stairway. One of these occupants suffered first and
second degree burns.

Others occupants who were on the front lawn, could not verify that
everyone was out of the building. Because it was Homecoming, there were
additional guests in the building at the time.

A crew immediately advanced a hoseline to the second floor, while
another crew advanced to the third floor to conduct search and rescue
operations. A second hoseline was advanced to the second floor to assist
in the firefighting operations because the fire had spread from the room
of origin, across the hall into a bathroom.

The fire was brought under control in approximately 30 minutes.

According to Chief Schmid of the Cookeville Fire Department, the cause
of the fire was electrical. In the room of origin an extension cord had
been plugged into a wall outlet, run under a carpet, and then bundled up
under a desk. There were a number of appliances plugged into this
extension cord, including a computer, several refrigerators, a microwave
and other items.

The building was a three-story, balloon-frame structure with a basement.
There were approximately five sleeping rooms-three on the second floor
and two on the third floor.

There were single station, battery-powered smoke detectors in the
individual rooms and in the corridors.

The only means of egress for the second and third floors were via an
open stairway that extended from the first floor to the third floor.

This fraternity had been inspected last year at their request. At that
time, the fire department advised the fraternity to not use the third
floor as a sleeping area because of the lack of adequate egress.

October 9, 2000

University of Nebraska at Omaha

Omaha, NE

A fire at the Omaha football stadium damaged three motorized carts,
football and track equipment as well as the training and weight rooms.
The fire is believed to be accidental.

October 11, 2000

Dean College

Franklin, MA

Campus Firewatch obtained the following information from media reports,
official sources and interviews.

An off-campus fire in a multi-family house caused significant damage to
the building.

The building was a Victorian style, balloon-frame structure. The fire
started on the second floor, and was reported to have been caused by
combustible material on top of a stove being ignited when a burner was
turned on.

The call to the Franklin Fire Department was made at approximately 4:00
p.m. by a resident that was trapped on the second floor. Four people
were rescued from the building, and one was transported to a nearby
hospital for smoke inhalation.

It was reported that there were smoke detectors in the building and they
were operational at the time of the fire.

One of the occupants of the building was a student at nearby Dean
College. Dean College has had two serious dormitory fires since 1995.

October 10, 2000

University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA

A fire in the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity was caused by too many electrical
cords plugged in an electrical panel. The fire was small, but as a
result, officials inspected the house and found a number of life-safety
violations that resulted in the house being closed until corrections
were made. Some of the violations included miswired electrical panels
and extension cords being used as permanent wiring.

October 13, 2000

Rutgers University

New Brunswick, NJ

Campus Firewatch obtained the following information from media reports,
official sources and interviews.

A fire in an off-campus apartment building damaged two apartments and
displaced 20 Rutgers University students. The fire occurred at
approximately 5:30 a.m. and was detected by a passing university
employee who saw smoke coming out of the eaves of the building.

The students were awoken by the sounds of fire fighters and police
officers shouting for them to leave the building. One student reported
smelling smoke for an hour before the fire, which was reported to be
electrical.

According to fire officials, the fire started in an exterior wall.
Because the structure was balloon-frame construction, it was necessary
to open up the wall to check for fire extension in the fire building as
well as the adjacent apartment building.

The building of origin was equipped with single station smoke detectors
in the units and smoke detectors in the common areas. The smoke
detectors in the unit of origin were not operational because the
students had removed the batteries.

October 15, 2000

University of Texas at El Paso

El Paso, TX

A fieldhouse at Kidd Field was damaged by a fire in an area where sets
for theatrical performances are stored. The fire occurred shortly after
8:00 p.m.

Fraternity pleads guilty to fire violations

by Mark Tetreault

In a negotiated plea the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity (SAE) plead
guilty to one count of violating the state fire code, and was fined
\$1,000.00. Two other counts were continued for a one year period.

Last spring the Durham Fire Department filed charges in the Durham
District Court against Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity after a large
party was broken up at the house. The charges were operating a place of
assembly without a permit and overcrowding, and obstructing the means of
egress.

As part of the plea all but \$200.00 of the fine was suspended provided
that several conditions were met.

1\. SAE must maintain their building free of fire code violations for a
period of one year

2\. All the brothers living at the house must participate in, and pass,
a 6 hour fire safety awareness class.

3\. The fraternity must follow the stipulations of a previously issued
conditional use permit. Included in the permit are stipulations the
house remain alcohol free, and the house be maintained in accordance
with the BOCA Property Maintenance Code.

Justice Taube of the Durham District Court stated that he felt this was
a fair plea, but cautioned the fraternity brothers against appearing
before his court again for similar infractions.

The requirement that the house be alcohol free is also a condition of
the mortgage on the house. Prior to this court case the town of Durham
had notified the mortgage holder (SAE National) of violations of the
alcohol policy. Thus far these notices have been ignored by the national
fraternity.

For more information, please contact:

Mark W. Tetreault, Fire Marshal

Durham Fire Department

51 College Road

Durham, NH 03824

(603)862-1426

Life Safety in Dormitories

James D. Lake

Reprinted with permission from NFPA Journal™ (Volume 94 No 5) © 2000
National Fire Protection Association all rights reserved.

Life safety requirements for dormitories may vary depending on whether
the building is new or existing.

As a result of recent fires in college dormitories, NFPA has responded
to a number of inquiries from the media, colleges, and politicians about
the fire and life safety requirements for dormitories found in NFPA
101®, Life Safety Code®. It's important to note that provisions for
dormitories may differ if the building is new or existing. The
provisions for hotels and dormitories, whether new or existing, were
part of the Building Exits Code which preceded the first edition of the
Life Safety Code in 1966. The provisions for new construction can be
found in Chapter 28 of the 2000 edition, and those for existing
buildings can be found in Chapter 29.

Q.How does the Life Safety Code define a dormitory?

A.The code defines a dormitory as a building or a space in a building in
which group sleeping accommodations are provided in one room or a series
of closely associated rooms under joint occupancy and single management
for more than 16 people who aren't members of the same family. The
facility may or may not provide meals, but it may not have individual
cooking facilities.

Q.What if the dormitory has accommodations for 16 or fewer people?

A.If the building houses 16 or fewer people, it's classified as a
lodging and rooming house. In that case, it's subject to the provisions
of Chapter 26, which differ significantly from those for dormitories in
Chapters 28 and 29.

Q.Are automatic sprinklers required in dormitories?

A.New dormitories must be protected by an approved, supervised automatic
sprinkler system unless they're low-rises and all the sleeping rooms
have ground-level doors to the outside or to access balconies. These
code provisions cover dormitories, as well as hotels. In fact, it was
the conditions contributing to fatalities in hotels---such as sleeping
occupants unfamiliar with their surroundings---that prompted the
committee to mandate that most dormitories have an automatic sprinkler
system. Automatic sprinklers aren't required in all existing
dormitories. However, the code provides significant incentives to
install sprinklers, including reducing the fire-resistance rating of
exit enclosures and increasing the common path of travel and travel
distance. Code provisions also address exit discharge, vertical
openings, protection of hazardous areas, interior finishes, corridor
wall construction, and smoke barriers.

Existing high-rise dormitories must have an automatic sprinkler system
unless every sleeping room or suite has exterior exit access. Such an
egress arrangement doesn't use interior corridors which might not remain
tenable for long during a fire.

Q.What kind of fire alarm and detection system is required for
dormitories?

A.Both new and existing dormitories must have a fire alarm system.
Initiation of the system is accomplished by the required manual pulls
stations in the building or the required manual pull station at a front
desk or other convenient central point that's continuously supervised.
The system will also be initiated by any required automatic sprinkler
system or detection system.

There are some exceptions for both new and existing buildings.

Automatic occupant notification is required in new and existing
dormitories, although the code recognizes two alternative occupant
notification arrangements. These are positive alarm sequence and
presignal systems, which allow for a delay in notification so that staff
can verify the emergency. The use of positive alarm sequence recognizes
a technology similar to a presignal system but with additional fail-safe
features. Presignal systems have repeatedly delayed alarms in
multiple-death fires and aren't permitted in new construction. However,
nuisance alarms are a real problem in dormitories, so presignal systems
are still permitted in existing buildings with additional code
restrictions on their operation.

The code exempts sleeping room smoke alarms from initiating a building
fire alarm system. Smoke alarms in sleeping rooms are usually
single-station alarms provided solely to notify occupants of smoke in
that room. Thus, the alarms aren't a part of a

required automatic detection system and are exempt from having to
initiate the building alarm system.

Smoke alarms must be installed in all sleeping rooms and living areas
within a room or suite. The code doesn't prohibit room alarms from
activating the system, but it discourages them to prevent activations
that may cause nuisance alarms. Alarms are available that annunciate at
a central point, alerting the occupants of the room and notifying
management of a problem in a room without sounding an alarm throughout
the facility.

House-powered, single-station smoke alarms are required in each sleeping
room and living area in a room or suite to alert the occupants to a fire
originating in that room or suite. In new dormitories smoke alarms must
be hard-wired to the buildings electrical system. In existing buildings
the alarms can be battery-operated. Normally, they aren't tied to the
building fire alarm.

Q.Ideally, how should it all work?

A.When the smoke alarm alerts the room's occupant, he or she is expected
to leave the room and the self-closing device on the corridor door is
expected to close the door. The occupant is then expected to pull a
manual alarm station, initiating the building alarm system. In a new
building, corridor smoke detectors or automatic sprinklers will kick in
if the occupant fails to sound the alarm.

A smoke alarm is also required in each living area in a room or suite
for two reasons. First, the living area is often used for sleeping, even
if this wasn't its original intent. And second, a fire in the living
area will rapidly block escape from the sleeping area in most cases.

Q.What are the requirements for separation of building corridors?

A.The provisions for corridor separation reflect the concern for
protecting people in sleeping rooms. The minimum fire-resistance rating
for corridor wall construction---one hour for existing buildings and a
half-hour for new construction---is intended to prevent fire from
spreading from the corridor to a room and vice versa.

Most existing lathe-and-plaster walls provide 20- to 30-minute
fire-resistance ratings. If the building has automatic sprinkler
protection throughout, the existing walls shouldn't have to be replaced,
as corridor walls need only resist the passage of smoke in existing
buildings with automatic sprinklers.

Room corridor doors must be self-closing and have a minimum 20-minute
fire-protection rating. In existing buildings with corridor sprinkler
protection that's been installed in accordance with Option 3 for
apartment buildings, the code allows a nonrated door that can resist the
passage of smoke. A self-closing door is needed to complete the
separation established by the rated corridor wall. No exceptions or
options permit omitting the self-closing device on the door. Although an
existing wall needn't be fire-rated if there's sprinkler protection, the
wall must be solid and resist the passage of smoke.

Q.Are the furnishings and contents of dormitories regulated?

A.Although there are no mandatory references to the upholstered
furniture and mattress provisions of the code, most new dormitories will
be sprinklered in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 28, and
sprinklered spaces are exempt from regulation on the assumption that the
sprinklers will prevent flashover. Existing dormitories may install
sprinklers to take advantage of these exceptions. For nonsprinklered
dormitories, the ability of new furniture to resist ignition by a
cigarette should be proven by testing, as a minimum.

Q.Are fire drills required in dormitories?

A.The code requires that emergency egress and relocation drills be
conducted regularly. The frequency isn't specified, although Section 4.7
requires that fire drills be conducted often enough to familiarize
occupants with the procedure. The code further requires that emergency
instructions be posted in each room. The information and the manner in
which it is posted are up to the authority having jurisdiction and will
vary depending on the building, its layout, and the protection provided.

James D. Lake is a senior fire protection specialist and staff liaison
to the Technical Committees on Residential Occupancies, Board and Care
Facilities, and Building Service and Fire Protection Equipment.

Responses to questions in "Just Ask" aren't formal interpretations
issued pursuant to NFPA Regulations. Any opinion expressed is the
personal opinion of the author and doesn't necessarily represent the
official position of NFPA or its technical committees.