Emergency Procedures & Fire
Systems
If any emergency occurs, call 911
and contact your Residence Hall Coordinator and/or Duty RA at the hall
desk at once. Emergencies include fire, sickness, accident, or a threatening
situation. If you are on campus and an emergency occurs look for an emergency/duress phone.
In the event of any major crisis, find
or stay with your living area group or RA until you are
officially accounted for and released. Call a family member
as soon as possible to let them know you are safe. We strongly
recommend keeping three gallons of drinking water at all
times, and a personal emergency kit.
Fire
DO NOT USE ELEVATORS
For fire inside your room:
1. Call 911 and call hall front desk. Give your exact location. Tell them what’s
burning.
2. Activate the fire alarm pull station if available.
3. If you cannot safely extinguish the fire, evacuate the area. Close all doors
as you leave. Take your keys.
For fire outside your room:
1. Feel the door. If it is hot, don’t open it! Call 911 and tell them
the situation and exact location. Seal bottom of door with towel or other material
to keep out smoke. Move away from door.
2. If the door is not hot, open cautiously. Walk to the closest safe stairway.
If smoke is present—stay low. Walk downstairs. Go up only if downward
movement is not safe.
Prepare in advance! Count the doors between your room and stairwell, in case
the area is dark or smoky.
Evacuation
All residents and guests are required to evacuate the building if an alarm
is sounded. Read the emergency procedures posted on the back of your door,
now! Villa Alvarado residents should note the location of
the nearest stairway to use in an emergency.
• Assembly
points are available online, please know your location for gathering
upon evacuation.
• University and city ordinances consider fire regulation and evacuation
drills essential. Alarms and fire equipment must not be disturbed except in actual
emergencies. (CA Penal Code No. 148.4) Violators will be prosecuted.
• A continual alarm signals evacuation by all students and guests.
• In the LLC, evacuate by end stairwell.
• In high rises (Cuicacalli, University Towers, Zura, and
Tenochca
Halls)
use
the closest available stairway to exit.
• Villa Alvarado residents should evacuate to the lower C Lot.
• At the first sound of an alarm, the staff member on duty will immediately
shut down the elevators.
• In drills and real emergencies, hall staff have the same authority as
representatives of the Fire Department.
• All rooms must be evacuated.
• Residents may re-enter the building only when notified by staff that
it is safe to do so.
• Failure to evacuate and follow instructions of university staff will
result in judicial action.
Earthquake
Keep these supplies in your room:
• Flashlight with extra batteries
• Battery-powered radio with extra batteries
• Heavy gloves, shoes, blanket
• Three gallons drinking water
• First aid kit
• Supply of necessary medications
In the event of an earthquake:
• Don’t run outside.
• Indoors, watch for objects that could fall on you, such as light fixtures,
furniture, ceiling. Stay away from mirrors, windows, swinging doors. Try to get
under a table, desk, bed, or doorway.
• In a high-rise building, get under a desk or table. Don’t dash
for exits, since stairways may be broken or jammed with people. Power for elevators
may fail.
• Outside, avoid buildings, power poles, and other objects which could
fall; move to an open area.
• Do not go inside the building.
• In a car, stop in the safest space possible.
After the shaking stops:
• Prepare to evacuate. Get your supplies.
• Find and stay with your living area group or RA until you are officially
accounted for and released.
• Don’t use candles, matches, or other open flames due to possible
gas leaks.
• Be alert for fires and broken glass.
• Do not touch downed power lines or objects touching them.
• Don’t use your telephone except for true emergency calls. Turn
on a radio for damage reports and information.
• Arrange in advance with someone outside San Diego to be a mutual phone
contact for you and your parents.
• Be prepared for aftershocks which may cause additional damage.
Fire Safety and You
Fire alarm systems in the SDSU Residence Halls are reliable and are state-of-the-art,
from a technical perspective. The campus fire alarm network is monitored by
University Police. Alarms are very sensitive, for your protection, and can
be inappropriately set off by carelessness in cooking, use of appliances, or
smoke, as well as more dangerous reasons. Nevertheless, all alarms must be
taken seriously, and all residents must immediately evacuate.
Each and every device (pull-station, smoke detector, heat detector, etc.) has
a specific address programmed into the controller. If a problem is evident,
the controller will know exactly which detector is in trouble or alarm, and
then transmit that information to University Police.
Fire alarm systems were installed for your protection. The campus has had numerous
cases of residents attempting to disable smoke detectors, or remove them from
their rooms. The safety of our residents has been taken into consideration,
and maintaining the integrity of our systems is managed with the assistance
of all residents.
Students tampering with any part of any system, in any manner, will be reviewed
for immediate eviction, Judicial, and legal action. Please be advised that
all repairs made necessary due to tampering with fire alarm equipment will
be charged to the resident. Further, in accordance with section 148.4(a)(1)
of the Penal Code, tampering with a fire alarm or life safety system may be
considered a felony.
If you notice a problem with the fire alarm system, please don't hesitate to
contact your front desk.