Higher Ed Campuses Face Unusual Fire Challenges
To develop a campus-wide emergency preparedness plan, it’s essential to ¬understand the challenges unique to college and university settings. The NFPA cites cooking, careless smoking, unattended candles, and overloaded extension cords and power outlets as the leading causes of fires in student housing. Also notable, the U.S. Fire Administration reports that in more than 50 percent of adult fire fatalities, the victims were under the influence of alcohol. Substance abuse increases the chance of falling asleep, while smoking reduces the ability to detect fire, impairs judgment and hampers evacuation efforts.

In dormitories specifically, 9-1-1 alarm systems are often misused. Fire alarms are pulled during non-emergencies and ignored during actual ones. Additionally, vandalized, disabled and improperly maintained smoke alarms inhibit early detection.

That’s why some campuses have a large number of personnel dedicated to fire safety. Stanford University, for example, allocates 15 staff members for fire equipment inspection and maintenance alone. Additionally, technology has greatly aided the monitoring of dismantled or broken equipment. A location signal is sent to the central monitoring system on campus, as well as to the city fire department, when a piece of fire equipment becomes detached from its system. Although technical advances have greatly improved Stanford’s fire safety, the frequency of maintenance- or monitoring-related occurrences still presents a substantial challenge.

Institutions Must Take a Balanced Approach
College and universities are much like cities, in that they contain a wide variety of retail, food service, single and multi-complex residential, public assembly, theater, academic and religious facilities. All require a range of fire equipment solutions appropriate to building function. These buildings are often tightly packed together with limited roadways and parking lots, which restrict emergency response vehicle access. Factor in that most student housing is overflowing with books, paper, bedding, curtains and clothes, and it’s not hard to see why a single spark can result in substantial loss.

Student behavior, combined with campus structural nature, presents many unique fire safety challenges. That’s why the Fire Equipment Manufacturer’s Association advocates a balanced fire protection design — one where safety does not depend solely on any single component. Rather, it involves a mix of appropriate actions and fire equipment that works together. A balanced design includes fire extinguishers, standpipe fire hose stations, smoke/fire alarms, exit signs and emergency lighting, and automated systems.

Fire protection equipment is legislated by city, state and federal laws. However, considering the history of fires, as well as the additional scrutiny that will now be placed on campuses to mitigate fire issues, campus leaders may want to evaluate their balanced fire protection design and exceed the requirements of local codes for additional protection.

For Stanford University, a strong fire protection plan starts with building design. “One of our major priorities is to provide fire safety insight for campus construction projects — interpreting code, identifying risks and recommending preventive measures, including fire equipment, from the very beginning,” says Joseph Leung, university fire marshal. “Once the building is complete, we conduct ongoing inspection and maintenance of equipment and buildings in addition to training and consultation for student activities, housing and departments, campus-wide.”

As each building on campus is unique, it’s fitting to move beyond a “one-size-fits-all” approach to fire protection. First assess building uses and potential hazards, as well as consult your local and state building codes before assigning appropriate fire equipment solutions. The following are common solutions that will keep your campus safe should a fire occur.

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