A recent fire at a Sansom St. house has prompted the University community to take another look at fire-safety both on and off campus.
Penn officials say its residences are fully up to code, but both administrators and students are working to increase awareness and safety measures.
InterFraternity Council President and College junior Max Dubin said that though fraternities haven't had difficulty complying with the fire code, he is urging them to increase fire-prevention awareness by reviewing emergency evacuation plans.
The fire, which occurred at around 3:35 a.m. March 3 and sent seven to the hospital, "certainly has raised the awareness that there are fire hazards around campus, especially in older buildings," Dubin said.
"We just want everyone to be aware of the [safety] plans in place."
And Facilities and Real Estate Services is going one step further.
Following the fire, Facilities has started to install new fire doors at the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house, which is located at 4028 Walnut St.
These doors, which automatically close after someone passes through, are designed to stop the spread of a fire in multi-story buildings.
Penn has "always gone above and beyond the fire code," Fire and Emergency Services Safety Specialist Veronica Anderson said. "We just want to maintain the building environment to make it easy and safe to get out in time."
For example, she said, all residences except for Sansom Place East now also contain extensive sprinkler systems, which are not mandated by the fire code.
Sansom Place East will get a sprinkler system this summer, Anderson added.
City regulations for Penn's residences -- which include both college houses and fraternity and sorority houses -- pertain to lighting, clear exits and the storage of flammable material, Tom Hauber, vice provost for University life facilities director, wrote in an e-mail.
Penn also requires every building to have automatic fire-alarm systems and alarm pull stations at every exit, Anderson said.
To ensure that buildings citywide comply with Philadelphia fire codes, the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections conducts inspections at various times throughout the year.
Hauber said that the city checks the high rises annually but only checks Penn's other buildings after a complaint is filed.
But despite the infrequency of official city inspections for the majority of University buildings, Penn ensures that all residences are in compliance with the fire code on a more-regular basis, he said.
Facilities officials formally inspect residences once a month and perform weekly informal walk-throughs of buildings, noting problems that need to be fixed, he said.
Fire alarms and sprinkler systems are also annually certified by an independent firm, Hauber added.
