Letters to the Editor | College on path to reduced fire calls

I want to commend returning students who helped the College achieve a dramatic reduction in fire alarm calls to the Arlington Fire Department last year.

Director of Facility Operations and Grounds Kiki Williams and Director of Environmental Health and Safety Jim Kelly have been tracking the number of fire calls from the Vassar campus for the last two years, and reported a 26 percent reduction in fire alarms related to student cooking incidents (a very big contribution from students), leading to an overall reduction of 21 percent in fire alarms from all causes. There were 234 calls in 2005/06 and only 184 calls in 2006/07. Still lots of room for improvement, but a great step forward in 2006/07.

The reduction last year and continuing efforts in the future can help the Vassar community improve our relationship with the Arlington Fire Department. While the vast majority of calls to the campus are not related to actual fires or the result of pranks, these calls still divert community resources to the campus. If we can avoid situations that cause smoke detectors to go off—smoking in campus facilities, cooking left unattended in microwaves, stoves or ovens—we can sustain and improve our record.

The Building and Grounds staff are committed to improving our systems and practices on campus; with the continuing cooperation of the entire campus community, we can reduce the number of nuisance calls to the fire department and keep the emergency response staff at Arlington Fire Department available the respond to the real needs of the community. We appreciate the support of the Vassar student body in this important initiative.

—Elizabeth Eismeier,
Vice President for Finance and Administration