Cracking Down

The University recently revised its fire safety regulations, implementing a zero-tolerance policy for intentionally activating alarms and a no-candle policy, Lisa DePaul, assistant director of undergraduate housing, said in a campus-wide e-mail last week.

The zero-tolerance policy, effective this spring, assesses fines for people caught intentionally activating a fire alarm when no fire is present and subjects them to prosecution under University disciplinary review as well as local and state ordinances.

The no-candle policy, effective in the fall, states that no candles, alcohol lamps, oil lamps or similar items will be permitted in dorm rooms. Such items will be confiscated and students will be fined for each offense after the first.

The decision to implement the new candle policy was made after "the University experienced twelve fire alarms in dormitories due to candles" between April 1999 and May 2000, DePaul explained.

"Seven of the twelve fire alarms were activated by an actual fire resulting from the candle flame igniting other items in the room."

University Fire Marshal Robert Gregory said, "We want to be proactive" in implementing these new regulations."

The new regulations come in the wake of last year's disastrous dormitory fire at Seton Hall that killed three students and the "tremendous amount of false fires at the Graduate School," DePaul added.

The Seton Hall fire "got everyone's awareness that there's just a time bomb just waiting to go off," DePaul said. "We've been lucky that we've had only small fires."

In addition to the false alarms at the Graduate School, the false alarms caused by candle smoke were a cause for concern, Patricia McArdle, assistant director of graduate housing, explained. "The more the alarms go off, the less likely students are to evacuate."

"We're trying to set up the best fire safety policy as possible to ensure people's safety," McArdle added. "We want people to take these things seriously."

DePaul agreed, "It was the University's concern that all these false fires would create a feeling of apathy."

The new regulations were passed after consulting representatives from the graduate and undergraduate programs, housing offices, Fire Safety, the Office of Risk Management as well as two student committees, DePaul explained.

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Sarah Contrucci '01, chair of the Undergraduate Residence Committee, explained that she and her colleagues were asked "to find out from other students how they would feel, whether the policy would be a burden or not." The committee concluded that the risk of fire outweighed any possible burdens.

While students who do not use candles were generally indifferent to the policy, students with candles were more outspoken.

One student who wished to remain anonymous said, "I'm going to have candles. I'm under the impression that if they can't see it, they can't take it. I only light them when I'm in the room. I like the smell and they help me to relax."

Some students also took issue with the regulations in general. Megan Wernke '03 said, "I think that all the regulations are an insult to our intelligence and our ability to be responsible."

"I think they're going overboard," she added.

Another student who also wished to remain anonymous complained it was unfair for smokers to continue to be allowed to smoke in their room while she and her friends could not light candles.

Gregory explained while there is no regulation against smoking in the dormitories, the University implemented the no-candle policy because "candles are much more of a problem."

DePaul added. "No pun intended, but we're playing with fire here."