The South side residence halls accumulated $1,394.00 in fire-related damages, and North side dorms incurred $180.19 worth of damages in 2009, according to a recently release fire safety report.
Tenley Campus had $2 worth for a garbage can replacement.
AU released the Fire Safety Report for the first time in early October in accordance with amendments to the Higher Education Opportunity Act, which now mandate that schools’ fire safety reports be released along with security reports.
The report only details fire and smoke-related incidents in the residence halls.
“There’s almost no property damage on any given year,” said Anthony Newman, AU’s director of risk management and environmental health and safety. “We have serious-minded students who come here to learn, not to start fires.”
The report said food preparation was the cause of 36 percent of fire or smoke incidents.
Glynnis Bowman, AU’s environmental health and safety project manager, said more incidents involve smoke on the stove.
“If we eliminated these kitchen fires, we’d have nothing but fluke and arson,” Newman said.
Flukes include the 16 percent of incidents that do not have a clear cause, Bowman said. The report lists their causes as “other.”
There were two instances of arson in 2009, both involving elevators in Anderson Hall. Public Safety Chief Michael McNair said similar incidents have not been seen in 2010 and believes the individual or individuals involved may have graduated.
“The fire report does not take false alarms and pranks into account,” Bowman said.
There were three false fire alarms in 2009 and four in 2008, according to Adam Cooper, Public Safety’s logistics and compliance coordinator.
McNair defined false fire alarms as when an individual pulls the alarm knowing that there’s no fire. If an individual pulls the fire alarm believing there is a fire, but there actually isn’t one, that is not considered a false fire alarm.
Bowman predicted that 2010 will see between one-third and one-half fewer smoke and fire incidents than 2009.
sdazio@theeagleonline.com
