Tragedy struck Georgetown University last month when senior Daniel Rigby died in an electrical fire in his off-campus residence. Like many Penn students, he was living in an old and poorly maintained rowhouse. His death prompted an immediate response from that university, and it is crucial that Penn also move quickly to prevent such a horrendous event from occurring here.
As students begin their search for next year's off-campus housing, it is imperative that they take note of fire safety violations. The Philadelphia government keeps a log of every building in the city and corresponding violations, which students can access by calling the Office of Licenses and Inspections at (215) 686-2463.
But responsibility does not lie only with the students, who frequently live in one place only for a year or two. The University should schedule inspections for all the off-campus properties that are listed on the Office of Off-Campus Living Web site. The city provides these inspections free of charge. Students can, and should, also take the initiative to do this when they move in. But ultimately, liability and responsibility rest with the University especially because, since Penn does not guarantee housing, so many students live off campus.
In the long term, in conjunction with the Office of Off-Campus Living, Penn should create an online database that lists the history of houses available to students for rent, including whatever violations they may have been cited for. This should be comprehensive and user-friendly. It requires cutting through red tape and bureaucratic barriers, but in further ensuring the safety of Penn students, whatever it takes to set it up will be well worth it.
A project like this has been in the works for a while, and it must be accelerated now. Rigby's tragic death has served as a catalyst for Georgetown. There's no reason why we need to wait for a similar one here.
Students living in West Philadelphia face many of the indignities of city life on a daily basis: mice, bugs, useless landlords, noisy neighbors. As annoying as those things are, they are not fatal. Faulty wiring, a lack of smoke detectors, boxes that block exits -- all of these things are serious, life-threatening hazards that we simply do not think about on a regular basis. That needs to change. Make the call: The city performs housing inspections for free. (215) 686-2463
