The First Few Days: Should I Be Concerned About Fire Safety?

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Irene Fernando (University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Class of 2007) remembers the night before a big test. With some noisy neighbors both above and next door to her room, it took her awhile to fall asleep, even though she went to bed at 2 a.m. She was dozing off close to 3 a.m."only six hours before her class"when a loud beeping startled everyone in her dorm.

The fire alarm pealed throughout the hallways, impossible to ignore, even among the half-awake and sound asleep. "What the hell is blaring right now?" she remembers thinking as she checked her clock. As if on cue, a booming automated voice provided the answer: "This is not a drill. There is a fire. Please file to your appropriate exit." She was shocked.

"This can't be happening," she remembers thinking. "I have a test tomorrow." But the rule about fire alarms is that they rarely happen at convenient times. (Think about it, though: Is there ever a convenient time for a fire alarm?)

So she went outside, in the frigid, dark Minnesota night, with fellow residents of her dorm. "You go out in your pajamas after throwing on a robe and slipping your sandals on. Everyone is miserable. It's got to be 10 degrees outside."

Irene took a good attitude with her as she filed down the stairs and out the door, although at first she was angry. "Who wouldn't be? I was complaining and angry with the best of them, until I realized that I was doing no one any good at all." It turned out that there was a real fire in the dorm that night. Although no injuries or major damage resulted from the fire, the message was clear to the students: Get outside when you hear the alarm.

Although the majority of fire alarms turn out to be false alarms, fires do happen, as Irene's experience suggests. Information provided by the U.S. Fire Administration and the National Fire Prevention Association make it clear why fire safety should be on students' minds:

• More than 1,700 fires occur in dormitories and in Greek housing each year, an average of about five a day.
• Arson or suspected arson, cooking, and careless smoking are the leading causes of campus fires.
• Alcohol is a major factor in many campus fires that result in fatalities.
• Many students do not consider fire to be a serious risk or threat, so they don't respond to alarms.

A false alarm problem in dorms is not something colleges eagerly mention to bright-eyed high-school seniors making their campus visits, so it may be a surprise to freshmen when they first experience one. The ear-splitting roar of an alarm at 2, 3, or 4 a.m. is so common at some dorms that students are tempted to roll over and try to go back to bed. For safety reasons, R.A.s may be authorized to enter students' rooms during fire alarms; those they discover intentionally staying behind are subject to fines or disciplinary action.

Fire safety is also behind the rules that won't let you arrange your room a certain way, and bans against appliances that might overload circuits. For the same reasons, candles and incense are usually prohibited, and an increasing number of schools ban smoking outright in their dorms. Given the circumstances"dozens, or hundreds, of students in a relatively confined place"fire safety is a top concern of hall administrators.