Residential Life Handbook

18 Fire, Tornadoes, Personal Safety Fire Alarms/Smoke Detectors When a fire alarm sounds you should close any open windows, leave the lights on in your room, and proceed to the nearest exit wearing a coat and hard- soled shoes. Before opening any door, you should touch it first to check for heat. DO NOT OPEN ANY DOORS THAT FEEL HOT. You should carry a towel to place over your face in case you encounter smoke. Close your door and calmly leave the building, moving to a point at least 100 yards from the building unless directed by Residence Life to move further away. DO NOT return to your room for any reason until authorities give instructions to do so. Students should periodically check the smoke detectors in their own rooms. Fire Drills Fire drills will be held in the residence halls. Students are required to cooperate and follow evacuation procedures IMMEDIATELY when the fire alarm sounds. Rooms will be checked during the fire drills to make certain students have evacuated. Students who do not cooperate during fire drills will be sanctioned. Fire Equipment/Fire Doors Students should locate fire exits, fire alarms, and fire extinguishers on the floor where they live. Tampering with equipment and setting false alarms endangers lives. It is against the law to tamper with fire alarms or equipment. Residents or guests who tamper with the College’s fire equipment or set false alarms will be punished according to local, state, and college guidelines. Fire doors and fire escapes are to be used only in case of fire. Reporting Safety Hazards Report any fire or safety hazards to the Head Resident. In the event of a fire, never assume that the fire department has been notified. Pull the fire alarm and call the fire department. Please familiarize yourself with the following important telephone numbers: Police……………….…………………...………911 Fire……..…………...…………………………...911 Ambulance…………...……..…………………..911 Poison Information..…….………….1-800-222-1222 911 calls are tracked to the source telephone Tornadoes A tornado WATCH is issued by the National Weather Service. No action is indicated during a tornado watch except to be ready to move if a warning is issued. A tornado WARNING is issued when a tornado has been sighted. The City of Bottineau will sound the siren for both a watch and warning. Persons should move immediately to shelter in a reinforced building. The basements or interior hallways on a lower floor are safest. Upper stories are unsafe. If there is no time to descend, a closet or small room with walls or an inside hallway will give some protection against flying debris. Stay away from windows! AVOID AUDITORIUMS OR GYMNASIUMS WITH LARGE POORLY SUPPORTED CEILINGS AND ROOFS. If you are in a building, do not go outside to another building, even if you think that building would provide more protection--you are safer indoors. Students in the residence halls should proceed to first floor hallways or basements (when possible) and wait until they are notified that the tornado warning has expired. Severe Winter Weather Students, especially those contemplating out-of-town travel, are responsible for making themselves aware of any severe weather conditions that may exist. When traveling in the winter, students are strongly advised to have an Emergency Survival Kit. For a North Dakota road condition report, call 511 or search ND Road Report.