Fire Safety
Tampering with or misusing fire and safety equipment, such as fire alarms, fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, and exit signs, or creating a false alarm pose a serious threat to life and property and will result in a fine and/or possible suspension. The college also reserves the right to take disciplinary action through the appropriate college channels and/or local law enforcement agencies.
The following policies exist for safety purposes. Violations of these policies may include disciplinary action and life safety fines.
- Never tamper with smoke detectors. If there is a question about whether or not a detector is working properly, immediately consult a residential life staff member or Campus Safety. If a smoke detector starts beeping occasionally, and there is no heat or smoke source, it probably needs a new battery. Contact the front desk or staff member on duty. NEVER REMOVE A SMOKE DETECTOR!
- Keep hallways free of debris and personal items. An additional fee of a minimum of $100 will be assessed for moving and disposing of large items. Repeated violations of this policy will result in increased life safety fines.
- Do not hang anything on the ceiling or drape materials that can cover or block lights, or smoke detectors or sprinklers.
- Do not stack belongings or furniture where it can block the flow from a sprinkler.
- Do not store items where they may be blocking a fire exit route. This includes windows, window sills, and hallways.
- Do not tamper with or spray fire extinguishers. This will cause the release of a chemical that can set off the building’s fire alarm.
- Do not burn any flammable items.
- Do not use or store flammable substances, such as gasoline, propane, sterno, and cleaning fluids on or near campus residential life areas. This includes camping stoves and flammable supplies.
- Do not overload electrical outlets. The college recommends only one appliance per outlet, especially in the older buildings.
- Students in residence halls and small houses are prohibited from using irons in their rooms. Students may use irons in designated spaces of their building (usually near the laundry room). If there is a question about where to iron, please consult your HR or RA. *NOTE: Only irons that have a maximum 10-minute automatic “shut off” mechanism are allowed in any on campus housing. Students in the apartments may use an iron in their common areas only if they use an ironing board and if the iron meets the standard above.
- Do not splice electrical wires or remove any outlet plates or light switches.
- Flammable decorations, such as holiday greenery, doors covered with excessive amounts of paper, and large paper decorations are prohibited. If you have a question about decorating in or outside your room, please consult your residential life coordinator.
- Fire exit doors must remain closed at all times. Residents are responsible for keeping doors closed and unpropped.
- Do not leave electrical appliances unattended when turned on.
- Do not place MicroFridges or refrigerators in closets. Allow for proper air circulation behind the unit.
- Keep all items at least three feet away from heating units.
- Dispose of trash as quickly as possible.
- Remove any dead plants, wood, excessive paper and other objects or materials that may be a fire hazard and dispose of them outside of the building.
- Outdoor personal grills are not permitted. Grills may be provided for residential life programs when a student staff member or RLC is present. If you would like to plan an event for your residential community, please work with your RA/HR.
Residential rooms and apartments are designed for regular student use. If students want to have a large number of guests in their rooms, they must work with their RLC to determine how many people are appropriate to have inside a room/apartment at a time and be within fire codes. There must be at least 7.5 square feet of empty floor space per person. A typical double room is 12x12 feet. With furniture in the room, the average available floor space is about 75 square feet, which means that 10 people can be in the average double room at a time.