Campus Fire Safety

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This training program is focused on fire prevention and your expected reaction to fire alarms, and fires on Campus.

It is critically important that upon activation of a fire alarm you stop what you are doing and immediately evacuate.

Regardless of where you are: in your residence hall, academic building or out in public in a store or a club, always be familiar with your surroundings by locating the nearest exits.

It could be a matter of life and death.

Introduction

This brief program will help you:

Describe the fire safety features of your residence hall

Discuss the rules and expectations with regard to fire safety

Identify the most common hazards we find in residence halls

Help you take action in case of fire

understand that an ounce of prevention is worth your time

RIT Residence Hall Fire Safety Features

Smoke Detectors

Found in every student room, all corridors and meeting spaces.
Hardwired to a larger network fire alarm system that reports to Public Safety.
Public Safety and the Henrietta Fire Department respond to every fire alarm except for a scheduled drill.
Locate the smoke detector(s) in your room. Some larger rooms may have more than one. Do they all look the same?

Learn More: TAMPERING WITH SMOKE DETECTORS IS A VERY BAD IDEA

Pull Stations

Generally found at each end of the corridor just before the exit stairway.
They have a safety cover over them that has to be lifted so that you can activate the pull station.
The safety cover has an audible sound to alert people nearby. These are a false alarm deterrent.

Fire Strobes

Fire strobes blink bright light during a fire alarm.

Fire Sprinklers

Found in every space in every residence hall building.
Unlike TV movies portray, they don't activate when the fire alarm sounds unless there is a fire, or someone has caused damage to the sprinkler.
Only sprinklers closest to the fire activate.

Learn More

Fire Doors

Fire doors are simply doors with a fire resistance rating used to reduce the speed of fire or smoke between areas to allow safe egress.

Fire Extinguishers

Found throughout campus.
A fire extinguisher is an active fire protection device used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergency situations.

The fire alarm is ringing….. again!!

Fire alarms are a major inconvenience, however they are a life safety device that requires your immediate attention.

Regardless of how many alarms you have experienced, ALWAYS evacuate.

Evacuation is required even with COVID19 concerns. WEAR YOUR MASK and EVACUATE.

DON'T

Ignore it
Hide

DO

Get up
Get out and move at least 100 feet from the buildings
Stay out until emergency responders allow reentry
Practice Social Distancing outside
Use the stairs for re-entry - only 2 people permitted per elevator

Communicate!

If you see something, say something
Report hazards like blocked hallways, stairways, or doors
Residence Life Contacts
Housing Operations Contacts
Public Safety Contacts

Use your Tiger Senses

Collaboration: If every student follows the rules and takes responsibility for their actions, we will all have a safer RIT community.

Accountability: if you do make a mistake and accidentally activate the fire alarm because you burned something in the microwave, tell Public Safety or Residence Life.

The investigation of the cause will take a lot less time and everyone can get back to what they were doing much quicker.

Fire safety lessons to live by:

If you didn't read your housing terms and conditions, now would be a good time to do it! There are probably things listed in the section that you didn't know or missed. You can be held accountable!

13 | FIRE SAFETY AND CODE COMPLIANCE

DO THIS! DON'T DO THAT!

It's a fact of life. The following the fire safety rules are to protect your safety and the safety of your fellow residents.
These rules are in many cases required by law and are the result of a previous tragedy where someone has died as the result of an accident or carelessness.

Don't Do It!

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure!

DID YOU READ THE FINE PRINT IN YOUR HOUSING TERMS AND CONDITIONS?

Don't touch the smoke detectors

Disabled and obstructed smoke detectors put your safety at risk in the event of a fire! Do not cover smoke detectors with any materials in order to prevent accidental alarms from activities that are prohibited in housing such as vaping, smoking or burning incense and candles.

This action puts you and the entire population of your building at risk and is not taken lightly. It's a real BAD idea and could land you in a judicial hearing when discovered.

Don't overload electrical outlets

No daisy chaining plug strips.

No using extension cords.

Fire can happen if you overload a plug strip by operating an appliance such as a refrigerator on it.

Don't leave a microwave unattended

Unattended Cooking in microwaves is a leading cause of fire alarms in RIT Residence Halls.

You must put water in Ramen Noodles and Easy Mac! Learn more here.

STAY WITH THE MICROWAVE! All microwaves cook differently - your food may cook faster than you think, and result in a fire alarm and an inedible entree.

Don't vape or smoke in RIT Housing

Vaping and smoking are prohibited in RIT Housing.

The use of vaping materials has caused an increased number of fire alarms in RIT residence halls.

Vaping is the same as smoking and is prohibited in any RIT Housing.

Don't burn candles or incense in RIT Housing

Candle fires are the fourth leading cause of campus fires behind cooking, arson, and smoking.

The U.S. Fire Administration reports that 20 percent of university housing fires in bedrooms are started by candles, despite the fact that they are now banned at most colleges.

Falling asleep was a factor in a quarter of candle fire fatalities - extinguish all candles before going to sleep.

Don't use fire when drinking

Alcohol was a factor in 76% of fatal campus fires between 2000-2015, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.

Do It!

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure!

DID YOU READ THE FINE PRINT IN YOUR HOUSING TERMS AND CONDITIONS?

Close the windows in winter

Very cold temperatures can cause fire sprinklers to freeze when exposed to cold. Learn more here.

Water expands when it freezes! If the fire sprinklers in your room don't freeze and cause a flood, the heating pipes could and make the same mess!

Locate your nearest exit and pull station

Your room has an evacuation map on the back of the door or in your suite that identifies the exit routes. Look at the map and then go look for the exits and the pull stations.

We are creatures of habit! We all tend to leave the building the same way we entered. What if that exit route was blocked? Would you know where to go?

Elevators are off limits in a fire emergency