University fails fire code inspection in residence halls

By Winston Yu

After years of not adhering to fire code, a citation from the fire marshal is forcing administrators to rush plans for the installation of magnets in residence hall room doors.

Until the devices can be installed, students in residence halls must keep their doors closed at all times. This closed door policy has both administrators and community facilitators concerned about the community environment in residence halls.

During an inspection of several residence halls by the City of Santa Clara Fire Marshals earlier this month, the university was cited for violating California Fire Code Section 703. This section specifies that all doors within the residence halls must remain closed unless someone is entering or exiting the room.

However, the code does allow doors to stay open using "hold-open devices," which consist of magnets tied to the buildings' fire alarm systems that release the door in the case of a fire emergency. The closed doors would then serve as a "heat stop," or barrier, and allow residents to get themselves to safety.

"It doesn't matter if a student is in the room or not," said Scott Strawn, director of residence life. "Unless someone is actively walking out or coming in, the door is to remain closed."

The current housing policy encourages students to leave their doors open while in their rooms.

Housing Facilities Director Mako Ushihara said the fire code has not changed in recent years, but that the university had been warned before the April 16 inspection that the housing open door policy was in violation of California code.

Strawn said that the school had already planned to replace the fire systems and install hold-open devices on all doors in Bellarmine and Nobili Halls over the summer of 2008. The school is now also considering magnet installation and fire system replacement in McLaughlin, Walsh and Swig Halls over this summer.

In any residence hall on campus, installing these devices will cost about $1,500 per door, Ushihara said. In Nobili and Swig, the fire alarm system doesn't need to be replaced because of recent renovations. Estimates for the cost of fire system replacement in Mclaughlin, Walsh and Bellarmine are not yet available.

Hold opens won't be installed in Sanfilippo and Dunne halls this summer due to upcoming renovations that will include both new fire systems and magnets.

Plans for magnets in the Graham buildings have been put on hold indefinitely as the school considers plans for building new residence halls on the current Graham property, Strawn said.

Casa Italiana, Campisi and Sobrato Halls already have magnets installed, and St. Clare Hall is exempt from the new policy because it has doors leading directly outside.

Vice Provost for Student Life Jeanne Rosenberger said the university is working on different approaches for building communities in the residence halls when students cannot follow the open-door policy anymore.

"We'll have to be a little more creative in some of those facilities that won't be ready for the fall," Rosenberger said. Safety comes first, though, she said.

"But at the end of the day, I think that keeping our community and our individual residents safe absolutely without question is a priority over everything else," she said. "Our aggressive attempt to get there that much more quickly will be a huge benefit to students."

Sophomore Community Facilitator Logan Fox said helping freshmen connect with other members of their floor will be a challenge.

"We're going to have to make even more of an effort as a CF or residence hall staff to help make connections," Fox said.

Strawn said he sympathized with these students, but, "For students in a position where they can't have their doors open, they'll have to work harder to get that community environment."

Contact Winston Yu at (408)554-4546 or wyu1@scu.edu