By Michael Purtell
Going through dreaded fire drills with droves of other students at the dorms is a universal experience for college students. SUNY Plattsburgh’s fire drills have been extended by new procedures in response to a less-than-ideal student response to the alarms during a recent fire.
A fire in deFredenburgh hall, contained to a single dorm room, revealed to University Police that 25 students across 21 rooms remained in the building after the fire alarm sounded.
The fire was a result of a disallowed candle, and led to damages in excess of $10,000. At least one student received burns in the blaze.
To try and keep students from putting themselves in danger in the event of a fire, UP has decided fire drills would now include officers checking all rooms for students who did not participate in the drill.
“We have a responsibility at the campus to enforce the fire code,” UP Chief Patrick Rascoe said. “Part of that is that people have to evacuate in the event of a fire alarm.”
The focus on ensuring students vacate buildings during fire alarms comes from UP, with Rascoe specifically designating his officers to enforce the checks.
“We are primarily in charge of enforcing the Student Conduct manual, however any campus employee can do it, and so can housing,” Rascoe said.
The new procedure involves two officers, standard UP personnel for a fire alarm, reporting to the building where the alarm sounded. One officer checks the building’s panel and one goes to the site of the alarm, to ensure the fire isn’t at high risk to spread. Once the fire has been confirmed as contained, or in the event of a drill the alarm is silenced, the officers begin clearing all the rooms in the building.
The act adds roughly 30 to 45 minutes to the process of clearing the building for students to reenter.
UP is trying to shorten the process by enlisting the help of Housing and employees such as CA’s and CD’s, Rascoe said.
Rascoe and UP are also not using the room checks to indiscriminately punish students for offenses unrelated to fire violations, in an attempt to respect student privacy.
“It’s an enforcement that is targeted and narrow in scope,” Rascoe said. “We’re not going to use it to search through drawers and whatever else. When we evacuate people, we’re doing it for the sole purpose of getting people out of there.”
UP will use the checks to identify and issue citations for other fire code violations, like covered smoke detectors, chained extension cords or candles.
Repercussions for fire violations can include probation loss of privileges to reside on campus. The Student Conduct Office adjudicates any related charges.
The amount of fire alarms and drills has not increased due to the deFredenburgh fire or the new procedure, Rascoe said.
