Fire Safety Targeted By College

House officials this month issued new warnings about fire safety in undergraduate housing.

Over the summer, superintendents posted emergency escape instructions on every undergraduate suite door. Tutors and proctors also gave students brochures of prevention guidelines at entry meetings this week, said Thomas E. Vautin, who is director of office management for the University and chairman of a Fire Committee formed in February.

Superintendents will also conduct formal fire inspections twice a year, said Quincy House Superintendent Ronald W. Levesque.

Vautin said Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57 asked him to form the committee because house masters feared safety had been compromised in the past three years by faulty alarms that led residents to ignore practice drills. The group, composed of Harvard insurance, maintenance, safety and housing officers, began a University-wide publicity campaign on fire safety.

"Since three years ago, I've worried very much that because of the large number of false alarms people just put their pillows over their heads," said Leverett House Master John E. Dowling '57. "I think that really spells out disaster."

Dowling said that when the College first installed new, automated fire alarms in the houses three years ago, some dorms had as many as 200 to 300 false alarms that year, Dowling said.

"It's sort of a horrible nightmare," said Currier House Co-Master Holly M. Davidson. "What happens if there really is an emergency?"

Dean of Continuing Education Michael Shinagel at Quincy House also helped initiate new measures. In 1986 a small sixth-floor blaze filled corridors of that house with acrid, toxic smoke during Christmas break.

"We weren't sure, our tutors weren't sure about fire procedure," said Rosa B. Shinagel, Quincy co-master. "Who should communicate with the police [or the fire department]? How do you know when students should go back in the house?"

The Shinagels have since appointed a house tutor to the position of fire marshal and assigned duties in case of fire. The latest committee recommendations urge stricter monitoring of annual fire drills in all houses.

Superintendents will conduct fire safety inspections besides annual room condition checks this year for the first time, Levesque said. New procedures call for them to fill out a checklist noting all overloaded electrical outlets, inadequate fireplace equipment or electrical cords covered by rugs. Mechanical problems such as unplugged alarms are also on the list, Levesque said.

The inspectors will tell students about violations and, in severe instances, will notify house officers as well, the superintendent said.

Committee officials plan to expand safety programs into graduate housing areas later this year, they said.