IU practices fire safety

Fire drills and alarms are almost as common as traffic on campus. On most days fire trucks can be seen hurrying down campus streets at various hours of the day. These alarms, real or not, force the department to stop what it is doing and come to the University. However, the cost of the trip to IU does not come directly from the University's pocket. \nThe City of Bloomington Fire Department does not charge the University for fire alarm runs; instead, it is charged to the state, said Larry Isom, Residential Programs and Services director of maintenance and facilities. Isom said the fire department -- which is staffed by both professional and volunteer firefighters -- offers free services to the University, whether it is responding to real or false fire alarms. The state of Indiana pays the salaries and costs associated with equipment and maintenance. \nScott Smith, deputy chief of the Bloomington Fire Department, said tax revenue funds pay for the fire alarm runs and real emergency situations. However, even though the fire department does not bill the University directly, IU contributes financially to the department, donating about $350,000 to the city of Bloomington. This money helps provide salaries for the firefighters, as well as equipment. \nIU Risk Management Director Larry Stephens said this money has helped pay for a new truck for the department.\nMost fire alarms the department has responded to this year have not been critical, Isom said, but instead were incidents that arose from students cooking or smoking in their dorm rooms.\nTo decrease the costs and occurrence of fire alarm runs, staff and faculty are involved in fire prevention and safety programs to reduce the expenses, Stephens said. \n"We don't have a lot of education programs, but the physical plant checks alarm systems," he said. "We go around and inspect buildings for fire hazards like electrical problems."\nStephens added that there are fire drills in residential buildings twice a year, but currently there are not any drills in academic buildings. He added there are escape routes posted in all buildings.\nKen Long, assistant director of the Office of Risk Management and manager of crisis and disaster planning at IU, said his office works with volunteers to set up "emergency control committees" in buildings on campus that work on exiting strategies known as Emergency Action Plans. \n"The plans are building-specific and campus-wide," he said. "What we try to do is set up incentives for people to participate in training." \nFree CPR classes and First Aid equipment are available to help individuals provide incentives for potential fire prevention volunteers, which aid in decreasing the costs of fire alarms.\nResident assistants Kara Curry in Read Hall and Sean Johnson in Forest Hall use fire drills for training as part of fire safety and prevention methods. Both RAs, however, said they have not witnessed a real fire alarm in the past year.\nDuring fire drills, Curry said they follow specific procedures when the alarm goes off. \n"I had to knock on every single door and go up to the floor above to get residents out," she said. Johnson, who received fire prevention training, said he has also been involved in a fire drill. \n"My function as the duty RA was crowd control," he said. "When the alarm went off, I felt prepared"