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Fire Safety at Fraternity Parties...food for thought...
With the tragedies at clubs in Chicago and Rhode Island fresh in our memories, as well as a number of non-party related fraternity house fires, the following is worth reading and considering:
Subject: Large crowds, few inspections: Are fraternity house parties fire-safe?
Michigan Daily
University of Michigan
March 11, 2003
Large crowds, few inspections: Are clubs, house parties fire-safe?
By Victoria Edwards & Maria Sprow, Michigan Daily
The beer is flowing, the party is jumping, the music is blasting and the hallways are overflowing with people. It's Friday night, and house and fraternity parties are happening all over campus, just like always. But what if something goes wrong?
Concern over safety at house parties, fraternity parties and University of Michigan-area bars and clubs has risen in the last month, due to the two tragedies that occurred in clubs in Chicago and Rhode Island.
More than 20 people were killed and 50 people were injured in Chicago last month after someone sprayed a can of Mace to stop a fight at the nightclub E2, which failed to meet safety regulations. The incident was followed by another tragedy just days later when more than 90 people died in a Rhode Island club after a band used pyrotechnics during its show. The pyrotechnics started a fire, from which panicked club-goers who were unable to escape due to the overcrowding of people inside the building.
Although University of Michigan LSA junior Melinda Hathaway said she feels many parties are overcrowded, she remains unconvinced an incident such as the ones that occurred in Rhode Island and Chicago could happen in Ann Arbor, Mich.
"You do get pushed around a lot and you don't really know the best way around the house, because it's not your house," Hathaway said. "I guess you never know what is going to happen ... but nothing bad has ever happened at any house party I've ever been to, so it's hard to me to imagine people being rude and inconsiderate and trampling over each other to push their way out of a house."
But Ann Arbor fire inspectors said there is more danger involved with house and fraternity parties than people are aware of. They also said that, due to budget and departmental cuts and the lack of a permanent fire chief, many of Ann Arbor's bars and clubs have not been inspected for fire safety standards in several years.
Ann Arbor City Fire Inspector Doug Warsinski said the most important factors when determining the safety of a club or bar are the number of exits in the building, whether or not they are obstructed in any way and are easily identifiable, the existence of a sprinkler system, the type of insulation being used and the material that composes the building.
Warsinski added that though inspections are not occurring as regularly as they should, the majority of Ann Arbor clubs and bars are still safer than The Station, where the Rhode Island incident took place.
"Anytime there is a large crowd and an emergency takes place -- fire or other -- it creates a dangerous situation because people panic," he said. "The Rhode Island club was in a wood-frame structure that was not suppressed and they used sound-proofing material that was highly flammable. Many of Ann Arbor's clubs are in better-constructed structures overall, and many of them have automatic sprinkler systems."
Ann Arbor Police Department Sgt. Craig Flocken said the city processes anywhere from five to 10 Michigan liquor control violations per month, some of which include fire safety violations.
For example, Touchdown Cafe on South University received several liquor violations after rapper Eminem gave an unexpected performance there in January. Among other things, police cited the bar for being over its maximum occupancy.
But Touchdown General Manager Todd Carlton said the club strives to follow all safety procedures. He added that he does not fear a fatal fire occurring at the establishment.
"From what I hear, the Rhode Island bar was constructed mainly of wood, which this place isn't. It couldn't go up like a Christmas tree. And I have plenty of fire extinguishers located in all the key spots," he said.
Although clubs and bars are required to abide by liquor ordinances that ensure safety for large numbers of people, Warsinski said houses and fraternities do not follow the same guidelines.
"Overcrowded parties are particularly dangerous because they occur in places not designed to accommodate them, particularly abandoned buildings and even many fraternity and sorority houses," Warsinski said.
According to the Ann Arbor Housing Code, all houses within the city must have at least two exits in different areas of the home and working smoke detectors, said Dave Sebolt, supervisor of the Ann Arbor Housing Bureau. Fraternity and sorority houses must follow the same regulations as other houses, he added, though they often are inspected more regularly than other houses, which should be inspected every 2.5 years.
University Greek Life Director Mary Beth Seiler said the greek system does not mandate a uniform safety code separate from the ones used by city.
"All fraternities are required to follow Ann Arbor city codes, (but) it is the discretion of each chapter to strongly suggest it, we require it but can't enforce it. If they don't follow the codes the city will penalize them if they choose to," said LSA junior and Interfraternity Council Vice President of Social Responsibility David Chang. "My house gets checked every year."
But the biggest fire hazards with houses and fraternities are blocked exits, Flocken said.
"We've been in fraternities where they just have their back door blocked in by all kinds of things and trash," Flocken said. "They have to make sure that their exits are not blocked."
One example of a house that failed to meet fire safety regulations is the former Zeta Psi fraternity, which city police and fire inspectors boarded up last April for not having adequate exits and for unsanitary conditions.
"We agreed that it was too dangerous of a building to be occupied, so we condemned it," Flocken said. Zeta Psi had not been a part of the University's greek system when it was closed.
Some fraternities have taken additional safety to ensure fire safety.
LSA sophomore and Sigma Chi member Mitch Stein said his fraternity has fire exits in the front and back of the house. They are open at all times and cannot be blocked off or locked. He said this is because they have a fire code. From any point in the house, people can exit in 30 seconds.
Stein added that Sigma Chi is also one of the only fraternities on campus to own a sprinkler system. The fraternity was recently given $ 1.5 million from their national chapter to renovate the house, which was used to bring the house up to code.
"All three floors and the basement have warning lights that flash when the smoke detector goes off. It goes off sometimes to cigarette smoke," Stein said.
Fraternity houses are not the only houses to throw parties, and fire inspectors and police officers said students living in houses should also be aware of the dangers involved when throwing a party or when attending a party at a fraternity or house or a rave at an abandoned building.
"Use common sense as to how many people are let in. If you can't hardly move during a party, and something happens, then there could be a potential for problems right there," Flocken said.
(C) 2002 Michigan Daily
As a post script, I believe there was a serious fire at the Delt house in Michigan not all that long ago.
__________________
Fraternally,
DeltAlum
DTD
The above is the opinion of the poster which may or may not be based in known facts and does not necessarily reflect the views of Delta Tau Delta or Greek Chat -- but it might.
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