Residents in University Accommodation
Stay safe when frying your breakfast!
Whether you are frying your breakfast, straightening
your hair, using a toaster or lighting candles - if you're living in
University-provided accommodation or off-campus in a shared flat, it's important
to know how to stay safe to avoid fire hazards.
We ask all students to watch
this video so that you know what to do in case of a fire, and
to help you avoid fire hazards happening in the first place (you
will need your University name and password). Please take a few minutes to watch
it so you stay safe at Essex.
You can also help to reduce the amount of false alarms that happen every year on campus, take a look at this video to find out about what you can do to avoid triggering the fire alarm.
Common Causes of Fire in Residences
- Smoking: Do not smoke in bed, use proper ashtrays, only empty ashtrays when you are certain there is no remaining heat.
- Cooking: Never leave cooking unattended, do not use too high a heat, be particularly careful when cooking fatty foods.
- Electrical equipment: Check that your equipment is safe with leads in good condition. Do not use multi sockets unless they are separately fused.
- Heaters and naked flames: The use of portable heaters, candles, tea-lights, aromatic oil heaters, joss sticks or any other device which has a naked flame is prohibited in University owned or administered residential accommodation except with the prior written permission. The Fire Safety Officer will give permission only in exceptional circumstances, for example, where candles are to be used for religious purposes and where the lighting of candles is accepted practice for that form of religious worship.
Cooking
Fire caused by cooking is the most serious risk to
all students living in accommodation. Over the years a number of serious and a
substantial number of minor fires have been caused by students cooking.
The University therefore gives the following advice
to all students in accommodation:
1.
You should not leave cooking unattended. Fires are often caused by oil
whilst frying catching fire due to overheating when left unattended. Similarly
fires have been caused by fat catching fire when left under grills.
2. Grill pans and cookers must be kept free from fat and food debris. Grease
and fat residues have caused fires due to overheating particularly when cookers
have been left switched on inadvertently and unattended.
3. Read instructions on pre-packed food. Food wrappings which should have
been removed before cooking have been ignited causing fires in cookers.
If a fire should occur the fire blanket in the flat
may be carefully laid over the fire, which will control it until expert
assistance can be summoned. The fire alarm should always be sounded and the
building evacuated. Never remove the fire blanket, leave it to the security
staff.
Obviously very minor fires resulting in burnt food
only will not warrant sounding the alarm. However, a report must be made to the
Information Desk to allow the cookers to be checked for electrical safety before
they are put back into use.
Doors
In order to protect students from outbreaks of
fire, all doors within residences are fitted with self-closers and the doors
are designed to hold smoke and fire back for a minimum of 30 minutes. It is
therefore essential that doors are not wedged open and any door that fails
to close fully is reported to the Accommodation Office for attention.
Automatic Fire Detection and Warning System
The building is fitted with a sophisticated system. There are interlinked smoke and heat detectors in common areas and individual smoke detector units in bedrooms. These units are necessarily sensitive. Tampering with or damaging the equipment is a disciplinary offence.
Common causes of false alarms are:
Bear in mind that the above will prompt evacuation. You will not be popular with the other residents, you may have to stand outside in the cold and rain for some time and you will be preventing the Fire Service from being able to attend real incidents elsewhere.
Ensure that kitchen and shower doors remain closed;
Never use aerosol sprays or hair grooming equipment near detector heads; Open a
window if smoking heavily.
Evacuation
You are required to evacuate immediately on hearing
the fire alarm other than in the first five minutes of a pre-scheduled test;
failure to evacuate immediately is a disciplinary offence usually incurring a
£100 fine. Read the notice on the back of your door, it will tell you where to
assemble outside where we can check that you are safe. Also see
http://www.essex.ac.uk/OHSAS/fireSafety/EmergencyAction.htm