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NewsvineWhile the old campus firehouse is now home to some student groups, a history of dorm fires at the University and a nationwide surge in residential blazes suggest that fire prevention is more important now than ever.
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According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the estimated number of fires occurring in campus housing across the nation has increased substantially since a low of 1,800 fires was recorded in 1998.
In 2005, an estimated 3,300 fires blazed in college dormitories, and campus fires resulted in 39 deaths and close to 400 injuries on campuses between 2000 and 2005. According to the NFPA, in-room cooking is responsible for 72 percent of these fires.
While campus fires nationwide have increased in recent years, the incidence of large fires has not increased at Stanford.
“Stanford has been fortunate that it has had very few major fires over the years,” said Associate Director of Student Housing Imogen Hinds. “To our knowledge, no students have been injured in fires [in the past few years].”
She added that smaller fires have been caused by candles, halogen lamps and other “now prohibited items,” in addition to fires caused by unattended cooking in student apartments. In August, an Escondido Village apartment fire was thought to have been started by electrical cords.
But the University has had its share of major fires in the past.
The Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house was destroyed by a fire in 1960, and a faulty electrical cord caused a major fire in Storey in 1980. In 1991, the Delta Tau Delta fraternity house was destroyed in what appeared to be an arson fire.
Hinds said that fire safety has always been important at Stanford.
“From 1898 to 1976, students formed part of the fire force at Stanford until the City of Palo Alto assumed control of the campus fire department,” she said. “Student firefighters, along with professionals, slept in the upstairs bunkhouse at the old Fire Truck House on Santa Teresa Street and later at the new fire station on Serra Street.”
Though the student firefighting team no longer exists, Hinds told The Daily that increasing fire safety is important to the University. All campus residences and apartments have smoke detectors, and all undergraduate residences except Wilbur Hall are equipped with sprinklers — which will be installed in Wilbur in 2009.
The University takes a number of precautions to reduce the fire risk in campus housing, including mandating quarterly fire drills, fines for flammable materials in dorm rooms and fire-retardant requirements for party decorations.
Hinds suggested ways in which students can do their part to reduce fires on campus. She recommended that students locate the exits closest to their dorm rooms, keep hallways clear in order to have a fast escape path and use fire-safe extension cords.