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Fire safety is everyone’s responsibility. Below are basic requirements for all TWU faculty, staff, and students:

Fire extinguishers, fire/smoke detection systems, and various fire extinguishing systems are provided in University buildings for emergency use only. The TWU Department of Public Safety (DPS) monitors all TWU fire alarm and automatic sprinkler systems 24/7. The DPS website contains information regarding current fire incident statistics for TWU.

Faculty, staff, and students should never attempt to disable or modify any life safety equipment; including smoke detectors, sprinklers, fire alarm panels, etc. In addition, please inform EH&S of any damage or other issues you may observe related to these systems.

For more information on TWU's life safety procedures, please refer to the 2021 Life Safety Procedures document. 

Fire extinguishers are found throughout University buildings; however, only appropriately trained faculty, staff, and students are permitted to use fire extinguishers, and then only if all of the following are true:

No employee will ever be required to attempt to extinguish a fire, no matter the situation. Faculty, staff, and students are instructed NOT to try and extinguish a fire if they have any doubts about their ability to do so safely. Instead, individuals should immediately evacuate the building.

In accordance with University Regulation and Procedure Number 04.430, EH&S requires that faculty, staff, and students take a number of simple steps to reduce the risk of a fire:

Flammable and combustible liquids must be stored in appropriate flammable storage cabinets or specially designed storage rooms when not in use. Only limited quantities of flammable or combustible liquids that are actively in use may be outside of these cabinets or rooms.

Dispensing of highly flammable liquids needs to be restricted to specially equipped areas. Generally, this is applicable to flammable materials with a flash point equal to or less than 73º F. Required equipment may include proper grounding and bonding facilities to prevent ignition of vapors, explosion-proof lighting and other electrical equipment, and spark-proof tools, pumps, and spigots; in addition to adequate ventilation.

Contact EH&S for assistance in determining what is required for the storage or dispensing of materials in your department.

The Department of University Housing has a fire safety web page specifically describing the various rules and precautions applicable to residence halls and apartment residents. EH&S provides fire safety and evacuation training for Resident Assistants at the beginning of each academic year. The RAs in turn provide basic fire safety training to their residents.

igot2kno.org is a website developed by the People’s Burn Foundation with fire safety videos and information specifically aimed at college students living in residence halls and apartments.

Employees who are not familiar with their department’s emergency procedures should contact their supervisor or Additional Duty Safety Officer. In addition, fire safety and evacuation training is available in various formats from EH&S and is required for all employees.

For further details, see the 2021 Life Safety Procedures document. 

Page last updated 1:34 PM, June 6, 2022