Recent fires raise questions on fire safety in greek housing
 

I thought this might be relevant to discuss in the Greek Life forum. FYI: there is a thread in the Risk Management forum about the UNL Phi Gam fire that this article is a follow up to.

Recent fires raise questions on fire safety in greek housing
By: Andy Boyle
Issue date: 9/6/06 Section: News
Daily Nebraskan

Fires this semester at FarmHouse and Phi Gamma Delta fraternities have some officials wondering if the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's greek housing needs more fire safety training.

Phi Gamma Delta's fire Friday morning was reported as arson and is still under investigation. Police found paper on fire in the basement and at least two members of the house were found upstairs by firefighters after the alarms had gone off. An estimated $2,000 worth of smoke and door damage occurred.

In FarmHouse, the fire started in the attic and the alarms weren't triggered until the smoke built up enough to come down into the living spaces. Fire inspector Ken Hilger said the fire might have been started by a lightning strike that caused an electrical malfunction.

Rick Campos, a fire investigator with the Lincoln Fire Prevention Bureau, said there are certain things fraternities and sororities can do to better ensure the safety of their residents against fire.

He said the first thing houses can do is install a sprinkler system.

"Wherever there's a sprinkler system present in a structure, there hasn't been multi-fatality deaths recorded," he said.

Quite a few of UNL's sororities have done this, compared to only a few fraternities, he said.

Campos also said houses should update fire alarm systems in the living and common areas.

He said greek houses are required to have smoke detectors in every inhabited room, but not all of the rooms have smoke detectors that are tied into the fire alarm panel. Most have single station alarms, which would only go off in the room where the fire is located.

Click on link above to read more of the article.

Some interesting quotes from the above article.

Campos [Rick Campos, a fire investigator with the Lincoln Fire Prevention Bureau] added that alcohol is the No. 1 cause of fire fatalities among college students.

"Alcohol impairs your judgment, slows your reflexes," he said.

~ And this...

At Phi Gamma Delta, fire officials believe the cause of the fire was arson - deliberately setting fire to cause damage.

I love how easy it is to second judge what someone will do under stress.

Everything is blamed on drinking as usual.

It was a nos moking house and the fire started in a hall way? Was someone smoking, as there was no wiring to have caused it. So, instead of supposition, it might be wise for them to find the cause. That is why there are arson/fire experts. I hope they find the actual reason.

And again, thank goodness no one was killed.

Remember also, Sprinkler systems can be of great help, but if a Chapter cannot afford it they will not be there anyway.

As a principle of an Illinois licensed security and fire alarm engineering, installation and monitoring firm, I can assure you there are financial ways to get these life safety systems. Chapters have to have the willpower to put these into the annual budget. You simply can't put a price on human safety.

Cost of a sprinkled medium to large (50 to 100+) chapter house, including all automatic fire alarm equipment: $100,000 Many smaller chapter homes (15-50 person) can be done for less.

Financed on a 60 month, no money down $1 buy out lease:$2,165.25 per month.

$2,166 divided by a 75 person house = $28.88 per person each month. A bigger chapter means less money per person. Most parents would GLADLY pay this cost to protect their son or daughter.

Some fraternities may be hard pressed to fund this, but sororities should have no problem. Let's face it, sororities budget their money much better than most fraternities. Sororities are also more likely to spend the proactive money to better protect their members than fraternities. Sad but oh so true.

If any one would like more info on how my company can help your chapter feel free to PM me.

I'm sure you know that I agree with sprinklers, detectors, etc., but MANY houses are MUCH smaller in terms of numbers.

It's a problem.

The addition of sprinklers will be a substantial part of the remodeling of the Delt House at Ohio University which is over 35 years old now.