Recent fire reminds BC of safety

Boston College runs a fire safety article every year. It can relate to a recent incident, like last week's fire on Strathmore or the BU fire two years ago, or it can just remind BC students not to smoke in their rooms. But it's more than just that.

Last week's fire stemmed from the simplest of accidents and an unfortunate series of events. But that's not to say that it couldn't have been prevented. If the charcoal grill that had been burning on the apartment's wooden roof deck had been appropriately extinguished, the fire, which raged enough to burn through the ceiling and potentially cause thousands of dollars in damage, would never have happened. "Insurance covers a lot, but I still lost a bunch of stuff," Nate Mellor, A&S '11 says. "My computer got wrecked so it's hard to even keep up with homework."

Fire safety is not the first thing on your mind when you move into a new apartment or residence hall. Most people care more about the nearest liquor store than if there's a fire extinguisher in the kitchen, but fire issues should be addressed. "Nobody really thought twice about the kid grilling on the roof," says Mellor, whose political science notes were covered in ash as he went to class this week. BC's guide to off-campus housing, though a bit vague, does stress the importance of having working fire detectors and locating the nearest fire extinguishers immediately after move-in. Even more importantly, students living off campus should check to make sure the building is up to fire code. But that is not necessarily enough - 11 Strathmore was up to code.

The moral of the story is that fire safety really comes down to the individual. Apartment buildings and houses in the area should all be up to at least Boston Fire Code, but for the most part, that code only prevents obvious fire hazards: If you leave a lit cigarette on a mattress it will go up in flames, regardless of whether it has an egg-crate mattress on it. That's not to say, however, that prevention policies count for nothing.

The last fire-related incident on campus occurred in Edmond's Hall in 2002. Before that, eight people were hospitalized following a blaze in Medeiros in 2000, stemming from a faulty plug strip. But to the credit of the Office of Residential Life, BC has learned from its mistakes. Following the 2002 Edmond's fire, electrical standards were increased, and the 2000 Medeiros fire prompted the University to replace all the screens in the residences on campus, in favor of ones that come out easier, for easier fire-escape purposes. That fire is both fortunately and unfortunately responsible for the little red tabs BC students love so much. It might be annoying that you cannot sneak a 30-rack up through your third-floor Fenwick window, but at least you will not get torched alive when your roommate sets his bed aflame between you and the door at 2 a.m.

But how does this change come about? Who gets to decide what's trusty enough not to go aflame? For the most part, public outcry plays a large part (not so much in policymaking, but in greater safety changes). But BC's Committee on Fire Safety makes the official decisions. This committee, headed by Henry Humphreys, the director of the Office of Residential Life, and Safety Director Keith Kidd, makes the rules on everything from banning hot water heaters to fire drill procedures.

"The committee not only meets every year to determine fire policies for the whole school year, but every month, to address evolving and pertinent issues," Humphreys says. And the committee does make real changes, most recently prohibiting octopus lamps following a fire in a residence hall in upstate New York caused by the popular lighting fixture. Prior to that, they prohibited egg-crate mattresses because the foam material goes up like a dried-out Christmas tree.

But the committee does more than just tell students what they can't bring to school every semester: They raise awareness for fire safety. Humphreys says the committee serves three purposes: to determine what items should be prohibited and set residential fire policies, to sponsor fire awareness week (this year it takes place on the week of Oct. 12), and to work with the Undergraduate Government of BC in sponsoring an awareness walk.

"We don't just tell students what they can't bring," Humphreys says. "We want to educate students." Unfortunately, education only goes so far, and incidents like the fire last week still happen.

But this fire was a testament to fire safety education at BC - at least, according to Humphreys and BC's fire marshal. "We really feel that what they learned at BC helped them deal with the situation," Humphreys says. The students involved did do the right thing, and exited the building as soon as they knew the fire was out of control. Damage was still incurred, but BC's fire education might have actually saved their lives.

Though it would provide for better safety, ResLife cannot inspect off-campus housing of any sort, because it is private housing. ResLife does inform students of appropriate safety precautions in the guide to off-campus housing, but it is only a set of guidelines. The real Boston Fire Code can be found online (it's a document that can easily be Googled), if you are interested in knowing exactly what your residence should be equipped with. The Boston Fire Department also has an inspectional department that can check on local residences and businesses alike. But it is much less likely that you'll see a fire inspector than an RA here at BC.

With the recent acquisition of 2000 Commonwealth Ave., the University gets a little closer to ensuring a safe living environment for students. Though many policies seem a bit extreme, no one can really argue that they hurt anyone. Some students would agree that they are a pain to follow, but had a fire like the one on Strathmore occurred on campus, the University would come under fire. The Universirty acknowledges that you are better safe than sorry.