Fire Safety

Fire Safety Policies

Interference with or misuse of fire alarms, blue lights, elevators or other safety and security equipment or programs; Engaging in behavior that places an unnecessary strain on emergency personnel when their services are not required (i.e. false reporting to 911); Intentionally lighting an open fire in or on any Skidmore College property is strictly prohibited.

All residents are responsible for adhering to the Skidmore College Fire Safety Policy and New York State law. Students are responsible for completing an online fire safety course during the academic year, as well as participating in all fire drills for which they are present.

All residential spaces are subject to periodic fire and safety inspections, and students are expected to cooperate in removing any found violations. The College may require personal furniture or furnishings to be removed from any residence when it determines the situation to be a fire, safety, or health hazard.

Residential spaces are also subject to annual inspections by the New York State Fire Marshal. Annual inspections include three scheduled inspections of living spaces. When possible, inspections will be announced in the form of a time window.

During the course of the New York State Fire Marshal’s inspections, if a student is found responsible after all three visits, the Fire Marshal may levy a fine. Fines levied by the Fire Marshal are non-negotiable and may not be appealed.

Staff members in the Office of Residential Life will conduct intermittent re-inspections of spaces found to have violations during New York State Fire Marshal Inspections. Students may not deny entry to residential life professional or student staff conducting inspections.

Cleanliness and Upkeep of Living Space

Students are expected to maintain their living spaces in clean and orderly condition. Garbage and recyclables are expected to be removed from living spaces regularly.

Students are responsible for maintaining the apartment’s cleanliness and condition of College furniture and ensuring that the refrigerator, stove, and similar equipment are kept in a clean and safe condition. If an apartment is found to be unsafe and/or unsanitary, the College will charge students for the cost of cleaning, repair and/or replacement.

Any item, or items, which blocks a clear path of egress from the living space and/or prevents doors from fully opening is prohibited.

Students residing in the apartments are expected to keep their kitchen and appliances clean and free of grease and debris.

Students in the apartments are expected to keep the area around breaker boxes and mechanical rooms clear and accessible. Both must be accessible without moving any personal items.

Emergency Response and Fire Safety Equipment

Building evacuation is required when a fire alarm sounds, unless previous notice was provided that the alarm is being tested and evacuation is unnecessary. (mid-level)

Damage, misuse, or theft of fire alarm systems and firefighting equipment is a violation of the law and is prohibited. (high level)

Students are prohibited from covering, or attaching anything to fire safety equipment in their residence, including sprinklers, smoke detectors, heat detectors, etc. (mid-level)

Students must maintain a minimum of 18 inches of clearance around any sprinkler heads. (low-level)

Prohibited Behaviors, Items within Residential Spaces

Smoking inside of all buildings and residences on-campus is prohibited. (mid-level) Ashtrays within all residential spaces are prohibited

The intentional burning of any item or substance regardless of design is prohibited. (high-level)

Possession of highly combustible items such as firecrackers, gasoline, propane tanks, etc. is prohibited (mid-level)

Possession of candles, incense, burning sage, etc. is prohibited (low-level) Presence of unattended lit candles and incense (mid-level)

Cooking and use of appliances

Food preparation is permitted in apartment kitchens only. The cooking of food and the use of electrical appliances for the purpose of cooking is prohibited in student rooms. (low-level)

Single serve (Keurig or similar) style coffeemakers are permitted for use in student rooms

Electrical appliances with exposed heating elements/surfaces, such as toaster ovens, microwaves, rice cookers, electric skillets, etc. are prohibited in student rooms

Students are expected to be present and attentive while cooking. When cooking, students are prohibited from leaving items on the stovetop or in the oven unattended, and must be in, or within view of, the kitchen at all times. (mid-level)

Ranges are for cooking use only. Items are prohibited from being stored in ovens or on stovetops. Ovens are prohibited frombeingused as an apartment heating source. (low-level)

Non-College provided space heaters are prohibited in all residential spaces (low-level)

Wall décor (Low-level)

Wall décor in all residence hall or apartment spaces must not cover an excessive amount of each individual wall (>10%).

Tapestries, curtains, and other cloth wall or window hangings, are prohibited.

No more than two strings of lighting can be connected together as one. Décor cannot attach to ceilings or connect one non-adjacent wall to another.

Covering light or other heat emitting devices with items not intended to be used as a cover (i.e. cloth over light) is prohibited. (low-level)

Possession of halogen lamps is prohibited.

The partition or division of residence hall or apartment space, including tapestries or curtains separating the window seat area and the closet space from the rest of the room is prohibited. No personally supplied curtains or tapestries are allowed in residence hall or apartment spaces. Tapestries, flags, or other fabric are also prohibited from being hung on walls. (low-level).

Bed risers, cinderblocks, or anything used to loft furniture is prohibited

Bed tents and other suspended covers of sleeping locations are prohibited

Altering college owned furniture in any way that causes damage or changes its purpose is prohibited

Electric usage (low-level):

Electrical cords must be fully intact. The possession and/or use of electrical cords with exposed wiring or otherwise damaged sheath covering is prohibited.

Students wishing to expand available outlets and/or use solutions to make them more accessible in their living space must use surge protectors that are UL 489 and/or 1449 certified and also contain an on/off circuit breaker.

Multi-outlet plug adaptors, extension cords, and any solutions not meeting these standards are prohibited.

High draw electrical devices including, but not limited to: coffee makers, cooking devices (used and kept only in apartment kitchens), refrigerators, humidifiers, and College provided space heaters must be plugged directly into the wall outlet.

Plugging power strips and/or surge protectors into one another in a chain is prohibited.

Electrical wires may not be run underneath rugs, or run on the ground across doorways.

Space heater usage (low-level)

The use and possession of space heaters is prohibited unless space heater is provided by the College as a temporary fix for a heating issue/outage. If a space heater is provided by the College, students are expected to abide by the following regulations:

Space heaters are to be unplugged and stored when not in use and/or no one is present in the room that the space heater is being used in.

Space heaters must be kept a minimum of 3 feet from any combustibles including, but not limited to papers, clothing, and rugs.

Space heaters must be kept on the floor and out of high traffic areas and doorways where they may pose a tripping hazard and/or may be knocked over.

Humidifiers (low-level):

Humidifiers are only to be operated during sleep and used when the resident(s) of the room is/are present.

Humidifiers are to be unplugged when they are not in use.

Humidifiers must not be placed adjacent to where the smoke detector is mounted or otherwise near the smoke detector and must be placed a minimum of 4 to 5 inches from any electrical outlet.

Humidifiers must be cool mist type; evaporative wick (cool mist) or ultrasonic. Warm mist and vaporizer type humidifiers, which provide a warm mist through a boiling process are prohibited.

Warm mist and vaporizer type humidifiers are only permitted for medical reasons with prior approval through the housing accommodations process.

Humidifiers must be of appropriate size for the space in which they are to be used. Humidifiers may be for the following sizes dependent on the type of room:

• Single rooms and apartment bedrooms – Maximum of 150 square feet of coverage
• Double/Triple occupancy rooms – Maximum of 250 square feet of coverage

Alternatively, humidifiers with built in humidistat shut off may be used with humidity levels set to a maximum of 50 percent.

Violations of the Fire Safety Policy

All violations of the Fire Safety policy carry a response from the College with pre-defined sanctions. All violations have been ranked from low- level to high-level violations for the most severe and dangerous violations of the policy.

Low-Level Violations

First Offense

• Formal letter of warning from College
• .Removal of violation by student or College Official (if applicable).*
• Restitution to the College for any damage resultant from the

Second Offense

• Meeting with College
• Removal of violation by student or College Official (if applicable).*
• Restitution to the College for any damage resultant from the violation.

Third Offense

• Recommendation to the Assistant Vice President for the Residential Experience for removal from residence for remainder of current academic year.
• Further sanctions through the Student Conduct process that may include suspension, or dismissal from college.
• Restitution to the College for any damage resultant from the violation.

Mid-Level Violations

First Offense

• Meeting with College
• Removal of violation by student or College Official (if applicable).*
• Restitution to the College for any damage resultant from the

Second Offense

• Recommendation to the Assistant Vice President for the Residential Experience for removal from residence for remainder of current academic
• Further sanctions through the Student Conduct process that may include suspension, or dismissal from college.
• Restitution to the College for any damage resultant from the violation.

High-Level Violations

• Recommendation to the Assistant Vice President for the Residential Experience for removal from residence for remainder of current academic year
• Further sanctions through the Student Conduct process that may include suspension, or dismissal from college.
• Restitution to the College for any damage resultant from the violation.

Fines

Skidmore College does not impose fines as part of the Fire Safety policy; however, the City of Saratoga Springs and/or the New York State’s Office of Fire Prevention and Control may assign fines to the College due to violations. If this occurs, students may be responsible for the cost of the fine if it results from a student’s prohibited behavior. Please note that restitution for damages are not fines and may be imposed by the College when necessary.

Return After a Housing Removal

If a student returns to On-Campus Housing after being removed due to violations of the Fire Safety Policy, any further violations of this policy will result in permanent removal from On-Campus housing for the remainder of the student’s studies at Skidmore College.

Multiple Violations of Differing Levels

Sanctions for students found to be in violation of multiple violations of differing levels in a single event will be decided at the discretion of the Office of Student Conduct and conduct administrator reviewing the case with the goal of ensuring student safety and education.

*College officials may include, but are not limited to, student and professional Residential Life staff members, Campus Safety, and/or Facilities personnel.