Discuss these Hokie Hints on fire safety with the Hokies in your life, and find more fire safety information on the Student Affairs Facilities and Operations website, to help them prepare for life on-campus!
Behaviors that Promote Fire Safety
Residence hall fires are not common, but they can occur and could have devastating consequences to both people and property. Fire safety reduces the risk of these instances and minimizes residence hall evacuations.
- Hokies should not interfere with their room smoke detector in any way. This includes muting the alarm speaker, covering the unit with any material, or otherwise tampering with the detector in any manner.
- Hokies should not alter or disable room doors, including the closing mechanism or preventing the lock from engaging. Fire door systems slow and contain fire to limit damage and aid evacuation.
- Every resident must promptly exit the building each time the building fire alarm sounds.
- Hokies should follow fire safety guidelines and VT Housing Policies when decorating their residence hall room
Tampering with fire and life safety equipment on campus will have consequences
Intentionally setting false alarms or otherwise tampering with fire or other life safety equipment:
- Desensitizes residents to potential danger
- Puts lives at greater risk
- Can divert life-saving resources away from other urgent campus and community needs
Don’t get caught red-handed: Dye indicators have been added to fire alarm pull stations and fire extinguishers throughout all campus residence halls to deter false alarms. This dye will mark the individual activating the station for three or more days.
Avoid serious legal charges: If a student is found to have pulled a fire alarm or discharged a fire extinguisher without cause, that person will:
- Be referred to student conduct,
- Be responsible for any costs required to restore affected equipment, related clean up, and the use of campus and local resources called upon in response to the false alarm,
- Face criminal charges filed through the Virginia Tech Police Department, and/or
- Face the cancellation of their housing contract.
Additional sanctions are possible. If a student is aware of any acts of vandalism involving a fire alarm system or any safety-related items within a residence hall, they can notify Virginia Tech Police, their residential well-being student leaders, or Student Conduct.
Anonymous reports may be filed using these tools:
Summer Giveaway
This information is provided as part of the Campus Countdown summer giveaway for the class of 2029! Incoming Hokies can follow along with our interactive email series this summer to win big and prepare for on-campus living.
View the move-in email archive, with move-in information sent to your Hokie, or click the links below for more information to share with the Hokies in your life:
