Fire Safety

Prevention is key to fire safety

Follow these helpful guidelines to ensure you and your community members are safe:

• Do not burn candles, incense, or anything with an open flame inside the residence hall
• SUNY Cortland is tobacco free; do not smoke in the residence halls or on campus
• Hot plates, George Foreman grills, or any other cooking appliances are not allowed in the residence halls
• If using a residence hall kitchenette, never leave cooking or microwaving food unattended
• Do not hang tapestries or posters from the ceiling or on the walls
• Do not run electrical cords or cables under your rug– it can wear away the protective coating and start a fire
• Do not overload your surge protector and do not use frayed and cracked cords
• Take arson seriously– it is the number one cause of residence hall fires; if you know someone who is thinking of setting a fire, notify a staff member immediately
• Never pull a fire alarm as a prank
• Do not use any lamp that has any plastic on the shade– the plastic can heat up and melt, causing a fire
• Be careful when consuming alcohol– half of all adults who die in residential fires have high blood alcohol levels

In case of a fire or fire alarm activation

1. Assume all fire alarms are real fires– never ignore an alarm
2. Stay calm and evacuate the residence hall– know at least two ways to exit your hall from your room
3. Warn others and wake up your roommate; use the pull station if you see a fire but the alarm is not ringing
4. If the hallway is smoky, crawl on the floor
5. Do not use an elevator
6. Once you are outside report to your hall’s designated gathering area
7. Do not reenter the building until you are told to do so by a residence hall staff member, university police officer or the fire department

If you have any questions regarding fires and emergencies, talk to your RA or RHD

We conduct three safety checks each year

For the safety of you and your community, we check to ensure that:

• All electrical equipment is plugged into approved surge protectors
• Nothing is blocking the exits from the room (doors and windows)
• Nothing is hindering smoke detectors and heat sensors from working properly
• There are no illegal appliances or candles present (toasters, microwaves, plastic shaded lamps, George Foreman grills, etc.)
• Nothing is hanging on or around the sprinkler heads

SUNY Cortland Residence Halls

All SUNY Cortland residence halls and apartments are equipped with fire alarm systems that detect smoke and ring in to our University Police Emergency System. These systems include sprinklers and/or a fire suppression system that will activate in the case of a fire. Additional information on fire safety is available in the Campus Security and Fire Safety Report.