Published: October 27, 2025
If you were around campus roughly two years ago, you probably would have heard about the Upton-Hastings fires that occurred seemingly regularly. And if you had picked up a copy of The Free Press around that same time you might have read an article about how to keep the campus clear of flames. Just because the students have been doing better about fire safety, at least in the past few years, it doesn’t make bringing awareness any less important. Here are a couple ways to keep your dorm building safe.
- Don’t light candles or have any open flames: As much as I love having my dorm smell nice, there are other ways you can do that. Consider getting a nice air freshener. Candles can very easily be knocked over, causing the something to catch on fire. Also having light candles in your dorm is against the rules.
- Don’t use skillets or hot plates: If you want to eat something other than dining hall or frozen food, there is a communal kitchen located in the dorms where you can cook food.
- Clear the outlets: If you’re no longer using something that needs to be plugged in, unplug it. You don’t want to overwhelm the outlets. On that same note, try to avoid plugging anything into the outlets on the dorm microwaves. I’ve noticed that when I have my phone charger plugged in the microwave won’t work when I want to heat something up.
Rowan Albee who is an RA for the Upton-Hastings dorm building says that if you see a fire you should pull the alarm and get out of the building. They say that “if a resident smells smoke or sees a very, very, very small fire then they can come and tell an RA.” No matter what, your job is to get out of the building once the alarms go off. Another important thing that can help you in case of an emergency is to clean your dorm room and allow for a safe exit. Ideally, we want to remain having a fire free campus and the only way we can do that is by being smart when it comes to any potential hazards.
