Did you know?
Heading to college or university brings plenty of challenges, starting with finding a safe place to live. When searching for student housing, prioritizing fire and life safety is essential to ensure the home-away-from home truly makes the grade.
Exits
When renting a room, apartment, or house, knowing how to evacuate safely in an emergency is critical.
- Verify adequate exits: Every living space must have proper exits that allow for an unobstructed escape.
- Ask your landlord: Always request that the landlord or superintendent point out all designated emergency exits.
- Check windows & doors: Ensure all escape routes—including windows and doors—open fully and easily without sticking or jamming.
- Keep hallways clear: Never use stairways or hallways for storage; furniture and other stored items can block your path or fuel a fire, creating a severe safety hazard.
Fire separations
Students often look for housing in older homes that have been converted into apartments or rooming houses.
- Before a building can legally undergo this kind of conversion, the owner must obtain a building permit to verify that it meets current fire safety standards.
- This process requires critical safety measures, including proper access for emergency responders and adequate fire separations between separate units.
- Always ask the owner or landlord if the property fully complies with current building and fire codes, and have them explain the specific fire safety measures that are in place.
Window security bars
While security bars deter intruders, they can also trap students during an emergency!
- Inspect all windows to check for security bars.
- Verify that any bars are equipped with an internal quick-release mechanism to allow for fast, easy removal from the inside.
Electrical safety in student housing
Older student residences often feature aging electrical systems, but a few simple precautions can help keep everyone safe:
- Check electrical outlets: In Ontario, all receptacles in the bathroom require GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) protection regardless of distance from sink, as bathrooms are inherently wet locations. For kitchens, all counter receptacles within 1.5 m of a sink require GFCI protection.
- Avoid overloading: Ensure your room, apartment or house, etc. has enough outlets to run lamps, computers, and TVs without relying on extension cords.
- Use power bars wisely: Opt for a certified multi-outlet power bar equipment with surge protection and a built-in circuit breaker.
- Safety Reminder: If using powerbars or an extension cord, connect the cords directly to the wall outlet; NEVER plug power bars or extension cords into one another—a dangerous practice known as “daisy chaining.” Doing so can easily overload electrical circuits, significantly increasing the risk of severe overheating and fire hazards.
- Protect electrical cords: Keep electrical cords out from under carpets and rugs, where trapped heat or unseen damage can cause a fire.
- Skip the octopus wiring: Never plug multiple splitters or chords into a single outlet to avoid overloading the circuit!
For more electrical safety tips and hazard information, visit the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) website at: www.esasafe.com
Catch next week’s Safety Tidbits Column for the final part of the safe student accommodations series, where I’ll cover essential fire and life safety tips every student should know before heading off to college or university.
Remember, taking the time to learn and practice injury prevention costs you nothing. Failing to do so, could lead to the unthinkable … the loss of your life and the lives of those you hold dear.
Safety—it starts with you.
