Important question regarding Sorority Hous Fire Escapes...

[FloridaTish]

Hi, sisters!

At the univeristy where I am an advisor, we are in the beginning stages of bringing greek housing to campus. We received a copy of the floorplan for a house designed to sleep between 14 to 18 sisters in a 2 story house. The one thing I noticed right off the bat was that there was no fire escape or secondary set of stairs as an exit from the second floor.

I emailed the Assistant director of Student Affairs who is the head of the Housing committee and asked if it was state or county code that a fire escape or back set of stairs be provided.

She emailed me back and stated "Nope it (fire escape) is not required, the (bedroom) windows will open so that is how the resident will get out."

Am I the only one who finds this totally unsafe? If there was a fire on the first floor or in the stairwell that is in the center of the house, the only way out from the second story bedrooms would be for the residents to use rope ladders or jump. Due to space and construction costs, I don't see the school adding a second exit.

How do I handle this and do you know if Gamma Phi has a policy on mandatory fire escapes or secondary escape routes? I checked our HCB manual, but it was not stated...

***UPDATE*** I just spoke with my stepfather who was our county fire inspector and city fire Chief and he told me that if there is a sprinker system installed in the house, city code doe not require a secondary fire escape.****

Any help would be appreciated!

-Stephanie

[SmartBlondeGPhB]

I'm guessing Gamma Phi only requires adherence to the local fire codes but the Director of Housing would know. You can find who that is from the Volunteer Leader Directory on the website, in the Financial Dept section.

[FloridaTish]

Thanks!