The tragic fire in the ATO house that resulted in the death of three young men has again focused attention on the issue of fire safety in Greek housing. Many states do not require houses be brought up to current code but rather only to the code standards that existed when the structure was constructed. The Ole Miss tragedy demonstrates the fallacy of this philosophy. Look what happened! Just think what might have happened if the property being used as a fraternity dwelling was not designed as a fraternity house but rather as a single or multiple family dwelling that had been converted - the results could have been worse. Sprinkler systems are expensive to retrofit. And, depending on how many individuals may live in the property or on how many square feet are present, even current code may not require sprinklers. There are some safetry precautions that should be taken (1) do not disable smoke detectors or fire alarm systems and have them periodically tested to make sure they work (2) have an escape route (3) make sure all exits are well marked and unobstructed (4) make sure hallways are unobstructed (5) all exit doors should open to the outside and have push-to-open pressure bars (6) have sufficient fire extinguishers and make sure they are fully charged (7) have some sort of "buddy" plan to make sure that the facility is fully vacated in case of an emergency.
Universities and insurance companies rely on the annual or biannual inspection to satisfy their own liability; however, your life and that of your Brother will depend on perpetual diligence. As suspected, Universities, like USM in the article below, are now beefing up their inspections and touting their corporate diligence in preventing a tragedy like the one at Ole Miss; however, that is not the real solution. Accidents happen, but with proper diligence and "playing by the rules all the time" with regard to safety issues your life as well as that of your Brother may be saved. YOU are your Brother's keeper.
USM works to install sprinklers in dorms - hattiesburgamerican.com
News and opinion for all the SigEp brotherhood. SigEp's "unofficial" blog.
