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2012 Annual Security Report is available from the University of Maryland Department of Public Safety

2012 Annual Fire Safety Report

The Higher Education Opportunity Act, enacted on August 14, 2008, requires institutions that maintain on-campus student housing facilities to publish an annual fire safety report that contains information about campus fire safety practices and standards of the institution.

  1. 2011 Fire Statistics for On-campus Student Housing Facilities
    DateLocationCause Injuries* Deaths Property Damage
    01/31/11Washington Hall Unintentional – Food on the stove00$1000
    02/04/11South Campus Commons 7Unintentional – Food in the oven0 0$100
    02/18/11St. Mary's Hall Unintentional – Cutting board on the stove00$10
    03/10/11Denton Hall Unintentional – Resident charging lithium polymer battery for engineering project10$100
    12/16/11Graduate Hills - 3410 Tulane DriveUnintentional– Food on the stove00$600
    *Injuries that resulted in treatment at a medical facility

  2. Description of On-Campus Student Housing Fire Safety Systems:
    1. Each Department of Residential Facilities/Resident Life housing facility has the following:
      1. Complete automatic sprinkler system
      2. Fire alarm system monitored by the UMD Department of Public Safety
      3. Smoke alarm in each sleeping room, interconnected and in common areas in suites and apartments
      4. Egress corridors and stairwells are fire rated
      5. Residents with disabilities are accommodated according to their needs

         

    2. Each University owned Fraternity and Sorority housing facility has the following:
      1. Automatic sprinkler system
      2. Fire alarm system monitored by the UMD Department of Public Safety
      3. Smoke alarm in each sleeping room
      4. Egress corridors and stairwells are fire rated
      5. Residents with disabilities are accommodated according to their needs

         

    3. Each Public/Private Partnership (South Campus Commons and University Courtyard) facility has the following:
      1. Complete automatic sprinkler system
      2. Fire alarm system monitored by commercial central station monitoring service
      3. Smoke alarm in each sleeping room, interconnected and in common areas
      4. Egress corridors and stairwells are fire rated
      5. Residents with disabilities are accommodated according to their needs

         

    4. Graduate Gardens and Graduate hills apartment buildings managed by a private property management company have the following:
      1. Complete automatic sprinkler system
      2. Fire alarm system monitored by an approved monitoring company
      3. Smoke alarms in each apartment
      4. Egress corridors and stairwells are fire rated

         

  3. Number of regular mandatory supervised fire drills:

    Each on-campus undergraduate housing facility has one fire evacuation drill conducted and evaluated by the University Fire Marshal's Office each semester for a total of 201 drills for the 2011 calendar year.

  4. Policies on portable electrical appliances, smoking and open flames:

    On campus housing facilities have prohibitions against the following activities:

    1. Smoking
    2. Using lighted candles or other open flame devices
    3. Cooking in unapproved areas (bedrooms) including use of toaster ovens and appliances with an open heating element. Microwaves are allowed in some areas
    4. Use of space heaters (Except when issued by Residential Facilities or other housing management for emergency outages of heat)
    5. Misuse of extension cords
    6. Tampering with or blocking any fire protection equipment
    7. Possession of fireworks
    8. Use of torchiere halogen lamps or halogen bulbs
    9. Charging of hobby shop lithium-ion batteries

  5. Procedures for student housing evacuation in case of a fire:

    When the building fire alarm is activated, residents are expected to:

    1. Exit the building, closing the room door on the way out.
    2. Use the stairs, not elevators. Once in the stairwell, do not re-enter the building. Use the fire exit door at the bottom of the stair that goes directly to the outside.
    3. Once outside, go to the Assembly Area for the building and wait for instructions from housing staff.
    4. Housing staff will call 911 to report the fire. If there is no housing staff available, a resident will call to report the fire. University of Maryland Department of Public Safety (UMPDS) is the Emergency Communications Center for the University of Maryland. UMDPS can be reached by calling 911 on a campus phone, using a blue light emergency phone, calling (301) 405-3333 on a mobile phone or #3333 on a mobile phone (Verizon Wireless, Sprint/Nextel, T-Mobile, and ATT networks). The fire alarm systems are monitored by the Department of Public Safety.

    Residents who see fire or smoke are expected to pull the nearest building fire alarm and evacuate the building as described above. Residents with information about a fire or who are trapped will call UMDPS. All fires, even those found extinguished, are to be reported.

    Additional information is available on the following websites:
    Emergency Preparedness in Residence Halls - http://www.resnet.umd.edu/emergencypreparedness/
    Residential Facilities - Safety and Environment - http://www.drf.umd.edu/safety/fire.cfm
    Facilities Management Guidelines for Fraternity Row Houses - http://greek.umd.edu/resources/forms-documents/facilities-operations/
    South Campus Commons Resident Handbook - http://www.southcampuscommons.com/residents/ Fire Safety information can be found in the Resident Handbook under "Move In"
    UMD Courtyards Resident Handbook - http://www.umdcourtyards.com/residents/ Fire Safety information can be found in the Resident Handbook under "Fire Safety"

  6. Fire safety education and training programs for students, faculty and staff:

    The Fire Marshal's Office within the Department of Environmental Safety provides training to housing staff including Resident Assistants, Community Assistants, and Greek House Directors. The training includes information on fire protection features of facilities, fire prevention, emergency procedures, and conducting fire safety education sessions for residents.

    Undergraduate residents are required to attend the first floor meeting where their Resident Assistant or Community Assistant reviews information on fire evacuation procedures and the housing prohibitions listed above. Greek House Managers receive training on fire prevention and emergency procedures. Greek House Directors and House Managers hold mandatory chapter meetings with Greek House residents to review fire safety information.

    Residents in graduate apartments receive the pamphlet "Fire Safety and You" when they first move in and every year afterwards. The pamphlet has information on fire prevention, building features, and emergency procedures.

    The Fire Marshal's Office is also involved in public education programs like the "Protect Your Shell" Safety Fair (New Resident Orientation), First Look Fair, Off-Campus Housing Fairs, Graduate Apartments Resident Appreciation Day, floor meetings, and Greek House Chapter Meetings.

    For faculty and staff, the Fire Marshal's Office provides training in a number of ongoing programs including New Employee Orientation, Teaching Assistant Training, Compliance Officer training, Crowd Manager training, Police Academy, Library Floor Marshal Training, and programs specifically requested. Fire safety information is also provided in campus wide FYI emails and Department of Environmental Safety Newsletters.

  7. Plans for future improvements in fire safety:

    UMD continually evaluates the fire protection systems in residential facilities. A systematic process of annually planning and budgeting for fire protection system upgrades has been in place for more than 30 years. Such upgrades occur through replacements or building renovations. Current plans include:

    • With the completion of a sprinkler retrofit project at the Graduate Hills and Graduate Gardens apartment complexes, all University of Maryland residential facilities are now fully sprinklered. The project, which took several years and cost $3 million, was jointly funded by the University and the private firm that manages the complexes. The project also included upgrading the fire alarm systems.
    • Installation of emergency generators in public-private partnership apartment buildings and 7 University-owned sorority houses.
This report was compiled by the Fire Marshal's Office in the Department of Environmental Safety within the Division of Administration & Finance. The Fire Marshal's Office may be reached at (301) 405-3960.
Copyright · University of Maryland · Division of Administration & Finance · Department of Environmental Safety
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Phone 301.405.3960