NFPA Journal - September/October 2019 - 14

Dispatches
It's not just about football. College
campuses are typically the site of
some of the state's largest venues, and
often some of the biggest shows in
all of entertainment. The campus fire
marshal is responsible for temporary
structure inspections that include
large stage setups, tents, canopies,
inflatables, and more.
While the job description can make
campus fire marshals sound appropriately indispensable, 20 years ago few
institutions employed anyone with
that title. There were certainly campus
fire prevention programs, with dedicated and committed staff, but few had
authority beyond what was provided
by their administration. Today, more
campus fire marshals, mostly at state
schools, have legal authority from the
state fire marshal either through the
law, memorandums of understanding,
or other agreements. This includes
campuses such as the University of
Oklahoma, University of Maryland,
Georgia Tech, and the University of California system campuses.
A significant advantage for campuses that serve as their own authority
having jurisdiction (AHJ) is the ability
to ensure that facilities are designed
to meet the needs that serve the
school's mission, especially in the
area of research. The research community is comprised of highly touted
individuals whose research grants
are cherished, bringing the campus
large sums of money and prestige
branding. Fire safety as it applies to
research and development is dynamic,
often without prescribed codes and
standards for guidance. The campus
fire official must make detailed hazard
and risk assessments when faced with
a proposal for a grant, new research
start-ups, or modifications to existing
research by principal investigators.
Many people envision a college
laboratory as a collection of students
performing tabletop experiments with
Bunsen burners heating samples in
test tubes. Undergraduate labs can
resemble this vision, but most campus
research departments are increasingly
involved with research that presents
more exotic hazardous materials,

14 | NFPA JOURNAL * S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 9

such as pyrophoric liquids and gases,
water-reactive solids, and highly toxic
gases. Campus fire officials must
assess the processes for hazard analysis, standard operating procedures,
and research a variety of codes to
verify compliance. Use of NFPA 45,
Standard on Fire Protection for Laboratories Using Chemicals, and NFPA
55, Compressed
NFPA.ORG/
Gases and Cryogenic
DISPATCHES
Liquids Code, are
common among
Learn more
about the Center campus fire officials
for Campus
to achieve fire safety
Fire Safety and
the upcoming
compliance.
Campus Fire
Finding common
Forum in Atlanta
ground with the
in November.
research community
on safety precautions and understanding of hazards associated with their
processes is delicate work. Despite
close working collaborations and
specialized training with lab workers,
fires do occur in campus laboratories.

Campuses with their
own authority having
jurisdiction have the
ability to ensure that
facilities are designed
to meet the needs
that serve the school's
mission, especially in
the area of research.

According to findings by Tufts University, 67 percent of the fires are due
to electrical causes. Faulty appliances
igniting flammable vapors, improper
fire safety and grounding measures
with electrical equipment fabricated
in the lab, and unsupervised processes are also factors. Incorporating
monitoring systems for toxic gas and
limiting the quantity of materials
being used can help prevent lab fires
or limit damage if a fire occurs.
A significant challenge for nearly
all campus fire safety officials is

improving the safety of students residing off campus. The rules that apply
on campus, along with the advanced
fire protection features and systems
(including sprinklers) that help keep
on-campus residents safe, are typically
much harder to find in off-campus
settings. According to National Fire
Academy statistics, 94 percent of
fatal campus fires occur in off-campus housing, with smoking being the
leading cause (29 percent); smoking
in campus residence halls is typically
prohibited. Alcohol, which is also prohibited in on-campus housing, was a
factor in 76 percent of fatalities. Working smoke alarms were present in only
39 percent of off-campus fatal fires.
Most students, when choosing to
reside off-campus, are more focused
on independence from campus regulations than they are on the fire safety
features offered on campus. Campus
fire officials approach this challenge
in a variety of ways. We educate these
students, along with their parents,
on basic fire safety features such as
working smoke alarms, adequate exits,
and safe electrical and heating systems. We establish relationships with
landlords to encourage them to make
necessary improvements in rental
properties. CCFS has worked diligently
on this issue by presenting panel discussions at Campus Fire Forums and
off-campus fire departments, such as
the City of Berkeley FD/EMS, which
targets off-campus student housing
with outreach by EMS staff, the first
responders to most student fire and
medical emergencies. The need to
reduce off-campus fire deaths and
emergencies will be a top priority for
years to come.
These are just a few of the challenges faced by the campus fire safety
community, including CCFS. Our internal and external partners are integral
to the ongoing success of the programs
we develop, and to CCFS itself. For
more information on campus fire
safety and to learn more about CCFS,
visit campusfiresafety.org.
Justin Daniels is fire marshal at the
University of Oklahoma and president of
the Center for Campus Fire Safety.
http://www.NFPA.ORG/dispatches http://www.campusfiresafety.org
NFPA Journal - September/October 2019

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