Fire Safety Program
The Fire Safety Program provides training in building evacuation, fire prevention methods and the use of portable extinguishers. The program incorporates scheduling and management of fire alarm and fire protection system testing and inspection as well as development and maintenance of guidelines and procedures aimed to assure the safety of students, faculty, staff and visitors. The program also attempts to insure the protection of university buildings and grounds. It complies with codes and standards adopted by local, state and federal regulatory agencies. Agencies such as IBC, NFPA and OSHA.
Fire Alarm Testing
In compliance with local, state, and national fire code requirements, Facilities Management Services conducts regular monthly tests of fire alarm systems throughout all university buildings according to a schedule prepared by Environmental Health & Safety.
The Fire Alarm Test Schedule is designed to provide the least amount of disruption as possible to academic studies and student life. These tests are usually conducted on the last full calendar week of each month, but may be moved to occur one or two weeks earlier if a university holiday falls in that same week.
For example, all testing in academic and administrative buildings is conducted between 5:30am and 8:00am; and in all student residence buildings no earlier than 9:00am, when most students are normally awake.
Evacuation is NOT required during scheduled fire alarm tests, but all Building occupants are cautioned to respond to sounding fire alarms at all other times by immediately evacuating their buildings.
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Fire and Emergency Action Plan
The Fire and Emergency Action Plan is informational, providing guidelines to be followed in various situations of emergency, i.e., proper use of fire extinguishers, how to assist others, what to do if confined by smoke or fire, etc. It contains basic evacuation instructions that can be applied to all buildings and information on campus fire alarm systems. The plan complies with OSHA requirements for fire and emergency action plans, as well as applicable NFPA and IBC requirements. It has been reviewed and approved by the Fire Prevention Division of the City of Pittsburgh.
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Firewatch
The Procedure on Firewatch and Fire Protection Impairment Management in University Buildings outlines the measures that are to be taken to assure for safety whenever any impairment or loss of fire protection occurs within any campus building. Impairments to fire protection may involve a serious reduction in the effectiveness of fire alarm or other life safety systems or to property protection such as fire suppression or extinguishment systems.
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Fire Safety Inspection Forms
Two blank fire safety inspection forms, one for student residence buildings and the other for academic buildings, are provided as a means for performing self-inspections. These checklist type forms cover some important safety related factors involving storage, housekeeping, fire equipment maintenance and other safety related topics, i.e. conditions of electric wiring, natural gas service, steam lines, tripping hazards, etc. These inspection forms should be utilized by all campus personnel and the completed forms can be sent to Robert Anderegg, Environmental Health and Safety Department.
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Hotwork Program
Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) manages a Hot Work Program via a permitting process. These permits cover all welding, brazing, cutting, soldering, and dust or mist producing activities and must be obtained in person by all contractors and University maintenance personnel BEFORE beginning any work.
- Permits issued to maintenance personnel or contractors may be issued on a daily or weekly basis dependant upon the estimated time needed to complete the work.
- On large renovation and construction projects, permits will be issued for up to one month, and must be renewed prior to each expiration until work is completed.
- Permits for hot torch or soldering areas in academic departments will be issued to expire at the end of each semester or summer period. These will be renewable prior to the start of each respective term.
For questions, contact Environmental Health and Safety Office at (412) 268-6624 or (412) 268-8182, or click here to send an email.
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