Greek Chapter Fire Safety Checks for Spring 2008 have been completed.

Please contact Amy Colvin, Assistant Director of Student Programs for schedule information or for any questions.

Purpose
The Millikin University Greek Chapter Housing Fire Safety Program serves to assist Greek Chapters in maintaining proper risk management procedures as they pertain to fire safety. This program also ensures the safety of the student population in a manner consistent with recognized codes and criteria.

Program Operation
There are four components to the Millikin University Greek Housing Fire Safety Program. These components are: 1) Fire Safety Checklists, 2)Chapter House Inspections, 3)Fire Drills, and 4) Fire Safety Programming.

Fire Safety Checklists (FSC's): There are two standardized Fire Safety Checklists provided to all chapter house managers: 1) The Monthly FSC and 2) The Anuual FSC.

Monthly FSC*: The monthly FSC must be fully completed on a monthly basis by the responsible chapter officer. Upon completion, the President, Risk Management Chair, and House Manager must sign off on the document, thereby verifying it's authenticity. Monthly FSC's are due to the Office of Student Programs no later that the 5th of each month. Monthly FSC's include checks of the emergency lighting system, individual room smoke detectors, the main fire system, and checks of minor code infractions such as exit blockages, outlet cover damages, extension cords, and flammable materials. There is also room on the Monthly FSC to indicate fire drills, inspections, and repairs/checks that have been done during that month.

Annual FSC: The Annual FSC is a detailed document that serves as a checklist for all code regulations and university safety policy adherence. Annual FSC's are due to the Office of Student Programs no later than January 25th of each calendar year.

* Those facilities that are open during the summer months will be required to complete monthly FSC's during those months.

Fire Inspections: A comprehensive inspection of all fraternities and sororities will be conducted quarterly. The Fire Safety Inspector has the authority through the University and the State of Illinois as a Certified Fire Inspector to enter a building at any time at his discretion. The Office of Student Programs will schedule inspections and you will be notified of your time slot one week prior to the scheduled inspection. A Decatur Fire Department Inspector will perform inspections twice a year and a university safety officer will conduct inspections twice per year. Access is required to all areas in the building. It is the responsibility of the escort to provide that access. If a chapter house plans on staying open in the summer, they will be inspected once by a university safety officer during the summer. Chapters may opt to conduct inspections more frequently, or inspections may be performed on a more regular basis for those chapters who have had recent violations of the fire safety program. A pre-occupancy inspection will be conducted preceding the Fall semester.

Following each inspection, a written report of findings will be submitted to the fraternity or sorority. The original inspection report will be directed to the Office of Student Programs. Copies of the report will go to the House Corporation President, House Director, Chapter President, and the Chapter Advisor.

A written response is required to be submitted to the Office of Student Programs within 30 calendar days from the date on the inspection report stating the date of correction of all listed violations. The response and date of correction may also be documented on your monthly FSC.
If appropriate notification is not received, or if it is determined that the correction is not satisfactory, the Office of Student Programs shall take appropriate action.

Fire Drills: Fire drills are required twice each semester to test fire alarm systems and fire reporting procedures under simulated emergency conditions. It is required that all Greek letter organizations with a chapter house conduct the fire drill during the first three weeks of the semester. Drills shall not be conducted at regularly scheduled times, and shall be held without warning except to the University Safety and Security Department, the Decatur Fire Department, and the chapter's alarm system monitoring company. Such drills ensure familiarity with exits, which in turn ensures that everyone gets out of the building promptly and in an organized manner to a place of safety. The chapter officers should meet directly after each fire drill to evaluate the success of the drill and work out details that have been faulty or misunderstood.

Plan: The fire drill plan shall include everybody in the building. This includes all residents, visitors, guests, employees, and attendants. There are no excuses for not participating. Everyone must leave the building during the drill period. Diagram and post two routes to the outside from all rooms, especially from bedrooms. Designate a meeting place outdoors which is away from the building and clear of entrances. The designated meeting place should be at least 50 feet from the building. Locate a method of calling 911 near the designated meeting place that does not involve re-entering the building. Establish a method to account for those known to be in the building at the time the alarm is sounded. In case of actual fire conditions, information regarding persons believed to be in the building should be made available to responding emergency crews. (Do not return inside. Only trained search and rescue personnel should re-enter an evacuated area.)

Fire Drill Report: Each chapter will complete a fire drill report form after each drill. The fire drill report form must be submitted to the Office of Student Programs no later than one week after the drill has occurred. The Fire Drill Report Form is a standardized form available to all chapters.

Safety Programming: All Greek chapters are required to engage in fire safety programming as part of this program. Fire Safety programming may be facilitated by the chapter or may be led by an outside expert. The University Safety and Security department is available to facilitate programs and discussions. The occurrence of fire safety programming may be noted on both the Annual and Monthly FSCs.

Compliance
All chapters are required to participate in this program and comply with all code and regulations associated with the program to maintain good standing with the University. Violations of the fire safety program will be met with disciplinary action. Disciplinary sanctions for fire safety violations are below:

Minor infractions:
*Minor code violations during inspections
*Late checklists
*Checklist missing signature
*Not meeting inspector for inspection
*Not gaining entrance to rooms in facility for inspection.

Major Infractions:
*Failure to turn in FSCs.
*False information on FSC
*Failure to complete fire drills
*Major code violations during inspections
*Failure to complete fire safety programming
*Failure to participate in any inspection
*Failure to rectify code violation in allotted time.

Sanctions:
1st offense minor infraction: Warning letter (A written reprimand or admonition informing the organization that any new incident may result in the imposition of more severe penalties)

1st offense major infraction: Warning Letter and chapter will engage in one additional inspection and fire drill.

2nd offense (of any degree): Developmental Sanction. An assigned task or tasks stipulated by the Office of Student Programs to be appropriate to the violation. Sanctions of this type include but are not limited to: service to the community, involvement with an established university program, development of life safety programming, or a research assignment. Additional sanctions, deemed appropriate by university or fire department officials may be added.

3rd offense: Social Probation of Chapter. Length of probation to be determined by severity of violation.

4th offense and beyond: Suspension of Chapter. Exclusion from the University and campus for a specified period of time, with the right to reenter the University or the reinstatement of privileges to be determined by the appropriate university officials.

*More severe disciplinary action may result from repeat violations. Chapters will not regain "good standing" with the University until sanctions or corrections are completed.

Fire Star Chapter Program: The Greek Chapter Housing Fire Safety Program has been integrated into the Five Star Chapter Program. Chapters will receive 5 bonus points for completing all aspects of the program. Please note that violations of the Fire Safety Program can result in non-satisfactory standing with the University and can result in loss of points for being in good standing with the University in the Five Star Program.