By Marie Felde, Media Relations Berkeley - The first steps in an action plan to improve fire safety for University of California, Berkeley, students living in rental houses were taken last week by UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl and officials from Berkeley and Oakland. A significant portion of Berkeley students live in private rental housing. Berdahl called the special meeting on Feb. 9 following last month's Oakland house fire that claimed the life of Bradley Evans, 23. The Jan. 28 fire was the second fire of the school year in which a UC Berkeley student died. Both fires occurred in single-family homes rented by students.
Safety is the number one concern in all of our cities.
One of the most effective ways we can act is through a strong program of education - knowing what to look for and contacting us when something is wrong. Others attending the meeting were Berkeley City Manager Weldon Rucker, Berkeley Fire Chief Reginald Garcia, Oakland Fire Marshal Leroy Griffin, UC Berkeley Fire Marshal Dennis Mueting and campus housing and student affairs officials. Students will be educated on where to place smoke detectors and which kinds are most effective. For example, those that have a 10-year battery that can not be raided for other uses are preferable, said the fire officials. Students will be directed on how to contact local fire departments to seek inspections if they do not believe their rentals meet fire safety requirements.