Fire Safety Systems and Regulations

Alarm Information

Fire alarms can occur for many different reasons. However, it is important to remember that a building must be evacuated during an alarm regardless of the cause. No one may enter the building after an alarm until the "all clear" signal is sounded by emergency personnel or Residence Life staff.

In 2000, Tech experienced 341 total alarms throughout the year.
In 2001, this number decreased to 266 alarms.
In 2002, there were 262 alarms.

The causes of these alarms include:

• Fire: An actual fire in or around a building triggers the heat or smoke detectors and causes an alarm.
• Malicious: Destruction of smoke detectors, intentional activation of smoke detectors, intentional pull station activation.
• Accidental: Smoking, cleaning.
• Dirty Detector: Insects or dirt in a detector can cause the detector to go into alarm.
• Cooking: Smoke and steam caused during cooking can activate an alarm.
• Defective Detectors: When a detector shorts or is otherwise defective, the building may go into alarm.

False alarms can be prevented:
Fire detection systems are present to help alert building occupants of an emergency, but false alarms can be annoying to occupants. They contribute to apathy and complacency of residents, causing them to ignore alarms and not leave the building. False alarms take valuable time away from building occupants, the fire department, Residence Life staff, and fire safety staff on campus. Here are some tips for preventing fire alarms:

• Attend to food while cooking.
• Keep your room clean. Excessive dust can cause a false alarm.
• Do not activate pull stations unless there is an emergency.
• Do not pull on, twist, or throw things at smoke detectors. The alarm may sound if the detector is damaged or destroyed.
• Do not play sports in the hall.
• Do not hang things on sprinkler heads or sprinkler pipes. If the sprinkler head is damaged, water will flow from the pipe and the alarm will sound.
• Use common sense. If you feel you should not be doing something because it might set off the alarm, then you're probably right!

Fire Doors

Fire doors prevent the spread of fire and smoke throughout the building. They are made from fire resistant material and are tested to withstand fire for a specific amount of time. All stairwell doors at Virginia Tech are fire doors. Depending on the building construction, some interior doors are also fire doors.

According to Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code, all fire doors must remain closed at all times. When stairwell doors remain closed, they prevent smoke from entering the stairwell and provide a safe means of egress from the building. For this reason, propping fire doors is not permitted. Propping also causes damage to the door and prevents it from working properly.

Smoke Detectors

There are different kinds of smoke detectors in the residence halls. All operate on the photoelectric principle of smoke detection. Along with heat detectors, they are placed throughout the residence halls in order to ensure their ability to warn residents of possible danger.

A smoke detector is an important defense against fire. There are two different types of smoke detectors used in student rooms. In some buildings, rooms contain battery-powered detectors. Residents must test these detectors weekly and record the results on the chart provided. Other buildings have system detectors, which do not need to be tested by residents. These system smoke detectors are tested semi-annually by a qualified fire alarm testing company. The sensitivity of these detectors is tested every other year. See the list below for the type of smoke detectors in specific residence halls.

System Room Detectors

Ambler Johnston	Cochrane	Harper	Johnson	Lee
New Residence Hall East	Oak Lane D-R	O'Shaughnessy	Payne	Peddrew - Yates
Pritchard	Slusher

Battery-Powered Smoke Detectors

Barringer	Brodie	East Campbell	Main Campbell	Main Eggleston
West Eggleston	Hillcrest	Miles	Monteith	Newman
Rasche	Thomas	Vawter

AC-Powered, Single-Station Detectors

The Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code requires weekly, documented tests of AC-powered, single-station smoke detectors. Buildings with AC-powered single-station smoke detectors include:

Oak Lane A

Oak Lane B

Oak Lane C

Sprinkler Systems

Virginia Tech has several residence halls equipped with sprinkler systems. These buildings include:

Ambler Johnston	Harper	Lee	New Residence Hall East
Peddrew - Yates	O'Shaughnessy	Payne	Pritchard
Slusher	Oak Lane D	Oak Lane E	Oak Lane F
Oak Lane G	Oak Lane H	Oak Lane I	Oak Lane J
Oak Lane K & L	Oak Lane M & N	Oak Lane O & P	Oak Lane Q & R

Sprinkler systems help contain and extinguish fires in buildings. The sprinkler heads are delicate pieces of equipment and will discharge water if damaged or destroyed. To prevent this, it is required that residents maintain an 18-inch clearance around sprinkler heads. Never play sports in the hall or hang items from sprinkler heads as they are easily damaged and may discharge. One sprinkler head will discharge 50 gallons of water per minute and can cost several hundred dollars to replace!

All residence halls are equipped with fire alarm systems. Smoke and heat detectors are installed throughout all public areas, with manual pull stations at each exit. Sprinkler systems are tied into the fire alarm system and are monitored along with the detectors. The systems are tested periodically by a fire alarm testing company according to applicable code requirements. A certified fire protection company tests sprinkler systems quarterly according to code requirements.

Room Smoke Detectors

Battery-Powered Smoke Detectors

System Room Detectors In some buildings on campus, a main panel in our system controls room detectors. It is not necessary for students to test these detectors.

Virginia State Law requires battery powered smoke detectors to be tested weekly.

Here, a student demonstrates the proper way to test the detector. Testing smoke detectors weekly will ensure that the detector will work properly in case of a fire.

Some smoke detectors are positioned higher than the resident may be able to reach safely. If this is the case, special smoke detector testing extensions have been placed in the RA office and are available to students upon request.

Testing Smoke Detectors

Testing battery-powered smoke detectors is easy and takes a minimal amount of time. Residents must test them once every week and record the results. A card with directions on how to test detectors is placed on the back of the door in student rooms. Please read it carefully and follow all instructions.

• Always exercise caution when reaching for smoke detectors.
• Press and hold smoke detector button (up to 30 seconds).
• Listen for beep and release button.
• Congratulations! You have completed your weekly test.

If you smoke detector fails to operate properly, you must report the defect to your resident advisor or hall supervisor immediately.

Alarm Information

False Alarm Prevention

Fire Doors

Smoke Detectors

Sprinkler Systems

Fire Extinguishers

Testing Smoke Detectors

Fire Safety Systems and Regulations

Resident Room Information and Regulations

Means of Egress and Evacuation Procedures

Policy for Residence Hall Decorations

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