Fire Safety in Corridors
Department of Public Safety
Date: September 4, 2001
To: Campus Community
From: Jay Bond, Associate Vice President, Facilities Management
Judi King, Director of Public Safety
Subject: Fire Safety in Corridors
It is essential to re-emphasize the importance of following
fire and life safety polices and regulations for the protection
of occupants. This may be especially true in light of the
recent laboratory fire at the University of California, Irvine.
While damage at Irvine was confined to the general area of
the lab, employees and fire personnel reported that thick,
black smoke hampered exiting and operations. Visibility is
limited in a fire and therefore it is extremely important
that corridors and other means of exiting remain free of obstructions.
In an emergency, stairwells and corridors are intended to
provide a safe means for occupants to exit the building and
emergency personnel to access the scene. Furniture, equipment
or any other materials stored in these areas constitute a
serious fire and life safety hazard. They are not only citable
by the State Fire Marshal, but could result in a Cal/OSHA
citation and fine.
Storage or placement of the following items is not acceptable
in any corridor or elevator lobby. This includes:
- Furniture
- Boxes/other combustible materials
- Equipment
- Chemical
- Work stations
- Gas cylinders
- Copiers
- Student desks
To have excess furniture/equipment removed from your area,
contact the Facilities Management Service Center (x3494) and
place a Work Order for this service. This service is provided
on at no charge for jobs that can be completed in 2 hours.
If a job is more extensive than that, a charge back will be
processed. DO NOT PLACE MATERIALS IN THE CORRIDOR AWAITING
REMOVAL.
Your request needs to contain the following information:
- Description of each furniture/equipment item.
- Property Number (if tagged)
- Serial Number (if property number is not available and
if applicable)
- Reason that the department is requesting pick up. (Broken,
obsolete, excess to department needs.)
- Pick up location.
- Will someone be there and/or is the room alarmed.
If you have any questions about the above policy, please
call Holly Hall, Physical Plant, (X2799) or Tom Whitfield,
Environmental Health and Instructional Safety (X4346).
CC: Bill Barrett, Acting Vice President for Administration
Holly Hall, Assistant Director, Physical Plant
Willem van der Pol, Director, Physical Plant
Tom Whitfield, Director, Environmental Health and Instructional
Safety