Safety Officials Issue Smoke Alarm Warning

The director of Duke's fire safety division is urging students not to tamper with smoke alarms or other fire safety equipment in the wake of a residence hall fire that broke out last week in a room where the smoke detector was disengaged.

"This is a serious problem on campus," said William Boten, director of Duke's fire safety division. "When people remove the batteries from a smoke detector or otherwise disengage these devices, we don't have the advantage of early detection and fires are allowed to grow."

Fire safety personnel check every dorm bedroom smoke detector twice a year, before the start of the fall and spring semesters. In addition, once a year they install new batteries, whether or not the old ones need to be replaced, Boten said.

"We typically find dozens of detectors either removed or missing their batteries," Boten said. "Students who smoke cigarettes deactivate them because they don't want to trigger a false alarm."

On Feb. 11, a small fire broke out in Wilson dormitory about 8 p.m. and prompted an evacuation after at least one student left a lit cigarette on or near an upholstered chair, according to a Durham Fire Department investigator. No one was injured.

A passerby noticed smoke rising from the window of the third-floor room and alerted a police officer near the East Campus substation. Officers raced into the residence hall, activated the alarm and extinguished most of the fire. They had to retreat at one point because the room was full of smoke. City firefighters arrived a moment later and finished the job.

The room's occupant returned a short time after the building was cleared and told authorities he and friends had been smoking cigarettes in the room. He also acknowledged that he had disengaged the smoke detector to avoid a false alarm, a police report said.

Barbara Baker, dean of student development and residential education, said judicial and residential deans met with the student this week to get a full understanding of what occurred and "are still determining the consequences," she said.

A student found guilty of tampering with fire safety equipment can face one or more sanctions, including having his or her housing license revoked, being placed on "imminent jeopardy" of revocation, being placed on disciplinary probation, being forced to make restitution, and being compelled to perform community service. Such service could include working in the fire safety division, writing a paper on fire safety, interviewing fire safety inspectors and sharing the information obtained with other students in a dorm presentation, or other educationally oriented activities. Duke's fire safety division and Office of Student Development scheduled a Thursday night meeting with city fire investigator Edward Reid at Wilson residence hall to help students understand the ramifications of tampering with fire safety equipment.

Duke has a comprehensive fire safety and prevention program that includes training for resident advisers, campus police and first-year students. The university also meets or exceeds all state regulatory requirements pertaining to fire extinguishers, sprinklers and other fire suppression equipment.

In addition, the university routinely conducts fire drills, tests means of egress from all buildings, and performs safety and site inspections. A university audit program educates staff about the storage of flammable chemicals, good housekeeping and other prudent fire prevention practices.

Reid examined the blaze in Wilson dorm last week and ruled it accidental. "One positive thing is that we had 100 percent evacuation that night," he said. "That hasn't happened in recent fires at other universities, such as Seton Hall and UNC."

Written by Noah Bartolucci.