LETTERS: Fire safety at Penn

To the Editor: Fire drills are as much a part of campus life as they were in your high school and elementary school, and we conduct them in all residences twice per semester and in all academic and administrative buildings twice a year. And while a false alarm may be annoying, one cannot know whether a sounding alarm is false or real. Don't take a chance. Leave the building whenever an alarm sounds. The University's goal is to have the best life safety program available. I would like to tell you about our current standards: · A two-day inspection conducted by the City of Philadelphia's Department of Licenses and Inspections on the high-rise college houses in January found them up to code. · We employ our own Fire and Occupational Safety Department, which inspects and maintains an extensive network of fire alarm and fire suppression systems throughout the campus. · All student residences have sprinklers in the basements, laundry and mechanical rooms. As we renovate our student residences and construct new facilities, all will have sprinklers throughout. · Each college house room has a hard-wired smoke detector. · Any fire alarm sounded is treated as real. False and accidental alarms are investigated by University of Pennsylvania Police officers and detectives and Fire and Occupational Safety specialists. Above all, fire safety requires common sense and attention to safety issues. In case of a fire or fire drill, I urge you to keep the following points in mind: · If an emergency occurs, shout to the people in the immediate area while sounding the building alarm. Then exit the building by the safest route. · When the fire alarm sounds, stop what you're doing and leave immediately by the nearest available exit. · Do not re-enter the building until told it is safe to do so by an official. · Learn the evacuation procedure for your building (including alternate routes). · Don't use elevators during emergencies. · If it is unsafe to leave the building, keep doors closed to prevent the spread of fire and fumes until help arrives. · You must participate in fire drills: It is the law. · Call 511 to report all campus emergencies. Thomas Seamon Vice President for Public Safety