By Bill Hord
Omaha World-Herald (Nebraska)
Copyright 2007 The Omaha World-Herald Company
LINCOLN, Neb. — Fraternities and sororities at University of Nebraska campuses will be required to maintain and test fire alarms and report results to the university under a policy to be drafted and considered by regents this summer.
NU currently inspects alarms in university residence halls more frequently than required by the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
“We want to have the same expectation of Greek houses,” said Regent Bob Phares of North Platte, chairman of a regents committee that heard a fire policy report Friday.
Greek houses will be required to have adequate alarms, have them tested, have somebody in charge and to report the results, Phares said. Regents will consider the revised policy within the next two or three months, he said.
NU also will require Greek houses to begin fundraising by 2010 for installation of sprinkler systems. “The goal will be to have them sprinkled by 2017,” said Rebecca Koller, facilities director for NU.
Friday’s status report on NU fire prevention follows the Nov. 17 fire at a Nebraska Wesleyan University fraternity house. Wesleyan sophomore Ryan Stewart, 19, died in the blaze. The cause has yet to be determined.
Nationwide, the 2006-07 academic year has been the most deadly since 2000 for campus fires, according to Campus Firewatch, an Internet-based watchdog of student fire safety. There have been 18 student fire deaths this academic year, according to Firewatch, with 80 percent of them in off-campus housing.
Koller said more than 96 percent of student living space at NU campuses will have sprinkler systems under a 10-year plan.
The plan will cost $13 million at the Kearney campus, $2.3 million at the Lincoln campus and $600,000 at the NU Medical Center in Omaha. All of the housing at the University of Nebraska at Omaha campus already has sprinkler systems.
The university’s current fire prevention policies include compliance with all codes, regular inspections and strict rules of behavior.
The policy prohibits candles, smoking, open-coiled appliances, unauthorized microwaves or using multiple extension cords in a string. Rooms are inspected and policies enforced, Koller said.
Messing with fire alarms or extinguishers can carry severe sanctions, including expulsion.
“We go above and beyond,” Koller said.
More than 9,000 students live in university housing that includes 2.8 million square feet of space, Koller said. All bedrooms have smoke detectors and 71 percent of the space has sprinkler systems.
Nebraska Wesleyan said in a statement issued Friday that fire sprinkler systems have been installed in its largest residence hall. The school’s governors have approved sprinkler installation for all other halls not already equipped and two Greek houses owned by the university.
Wesleyan said it is working with six Greek houses to assist them in financing sprinkler systems.
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