Section 3364-60-03 - Fire and life safety management(A) Policy statement The university of Toledo shall have a fire and life safety plan.
(B) Purpose of policy To help protect the lives of students, patients, staff, faculty, visitors, and its buildings from fire hazards. The fire safety plan will meet the mandates of local, state and national building and fire codes. The plan requires the provision of protocols and procedures for ensuring the creation, maintenance and improvement of fire safety systems for all campus buildings and locations. To ensure that all structures are fire safe and equipped with all of the proper operational equipment necessary to handle fire safety/fire prevention issues effectively and expeditiously; to ensure that all individuals entering campus grounds and locations are protected and well-educated on the major tenets of fire safety/fire prevention and response.
(C) Design and responsibility The following departments are responsible for preservation of life and fire safety at the university of Toledo.
(1) The environmental health and radiation safety department, university police, risk management and maintenance/plant operations are responsible for the overall provision of the fire safety plan at the university of Toledo.(2) Environmental health and radiation safety assisted by various university departments is tasked with the development of procedures, programs and plans to serve as procedural guidelines for institutional and academic departments in regards to life and fire safety.(3) Maintenance/plant operations is responsible for the selection, installation, maintenance and inspection of all fire safety devices designed to detect and prevent fires in and around campus buildings.(D) The university develops and maintains a written management plan describing the processes it implements to effectively manage fire and life safety. The plan will: (1) Identify and implement proactive processes for protecting patients, staff, and others coming to the facilities, as well as protecting property from fire, smoke, and other products of combustion: This is achieved primarily by the patient care buildings being built in compliance with established codes of the local and state fire marshal authorities and Ohio building code provisions, and in accordance with guidelines delineated by the American institute of architects "AIA." Facilities maintenance, campus police and environmental health and radiation safety staff provide protection to all occupants by conducting life safety rounds, security patrols and fire drills that test staff knowledge of and response to fire situations.(2) Identify and implement processes for regularly inspecting, testing and maintaining fire protection and fire safety systems, equipment and components: This is achieved through an established preventive maintenance "PM" program which is tracked and monitored for compliance by the facilities maintenance department. A computerized matrix for testing of the various fire alarm and fire notification/detection/prevention systems and the intervals for such testing are maintained by facilities maintenance in accordance with both local and state requirements, and applicable joint commission standards for testing.(3) Develops and implements a fire response plan that addresses the following:(a) Facility wide fire response;(b) Area-specific needs including fire evacuation routes;(c) Specific roles and responsibilities of staff, faculty, students, visitors and volunteers at a fire's point of origin;(d) Specific roles and responsibilities of staff, faculty, students, visitors and volunteers away from a fire's point of origin;(e) Specific roles and responsibilities of staff, faculty, students, visitors and volunteers in preparing for building evacuation.(4) The five requirements mentioned above are addressed in procedure LS-08-001 (code red---campus fire response procedure).(5) Review proposed acquisitions of bedding, window draperies, and other curtains, furnishings, decorations, and other equipment for fire safety: The purchasing department works with vendors who verify, through written affidavits or certifications, the fire safety features of the acquisitions listed above. Purchases of bedding, curtains and furnishings are usually done through national companies whose products comply with mandates regarding fire prevention/life safety safeguards; in addition, the university follows the guidelines spelled out in California technical bulletin 133 and national fire protection association "NFPA" 701.(6) Reporting and investigating fire protection deficiencies, failures and user errors: errors and deficiencies of this nature are reported to the facilities maintenance work control center if a structural component of existing life safety protection is compromised, or to the appropriate university contractor liaison if the deficiency is related to construction and renovation/remodeling being done by outside contractors. In addition, after fire drills are completed, the drill conductor consults with supervisory staff in the department(s) drilled, and identifies any deficiencies, failures, user errors or staff knowledge gaps to those supervisors, so the issues identified can be immediately addressed and corrected.(7) A life safety orientation and education program that addresses fire safety issues: The fire prevention plan encompasses provisions for the education of staff, faculty, students, visitors, volunteers and others on fire safety/fire prevention protocols. The university has implemented the r=rescue, a=alarm, c=confine, e=extinguish "R.A.C.E." acronym in training persons on the hazards of fire. In addition, the level of staff, faculty, and students, visitors and volunteer's knowledge of fire safety is assessed by random queries made during monthly environmental safety rounds, and by reinforcement through the employee safety training.(8) The management plan describes all of the processes required for fire safety planning, including:(a) Process description(i) The university protects patients, staff, faculty, visitors, volunteers and property from the dangers of fire, smoke and combustion primarily by ensuring that all buildings are constructed in compliance with the life safety code and with guidelines and recommendations issued by the American institute of architects "AIA." The ban on smoking inside buildings on the campus contributes a great deal to ensuring a fire-safe environment.(ii) The structural safeguards in place in buildings of the university, such as smoke detectors, pull station alarms, heat detectors, damper alarms, sprinkler systems and fire extinguishers all contribute greatly to the fire safety/fire prevention at the university.(iii) An important component of the life safety program at the university is the strong partnership that exists between the university and the local and state fire marshals' bureaus. The local fire marshal conducts an intensive wall-to-wall survey of all campus buildings regularly.(iv) The fire marshal makes detailed recommendations for change or correction. These recommendations are reported to the facilities maintenance department for action and follow-up.(b) Establishing, supporting and maintaining fire safety (ii) The university fire prevention plan has been established to provide guidelines to the safety and health committee and the appropriate maintenance/construction support activities so that the university meets the guidelines set forth in NFPA life safety code 101 as they relate to its existing occupancies.(ii) Included in this process are life safety assessments "LSA" which outline a course of action to improve overall fire safety.(c) Fire safety education Education is a key component of the fire safety plan and is intended to provide an understanding of the university's fire prevention plan.
(d) Compliance with interim life safety measures during periods of construction The university institutes interim life safety measures during periods of construction when certain features of life safety protections will be curtailed or interrupted.
(e) Inspecting, testing and maintaining the fire alarm systems The university provides clear processes for the inspection, testing and maintaining of its fire alarm system by conducting testing as required on the fire alarm circuits by in-house facilities maintenance staff. The logs and reports of testing, and documentation of this testing are maintained in the facilities maintenance department.
(f) Inspecting, testing and maintaining all automatic fire extinguishment systems The university maintains clear processes for the inspection, testing and maintaining of its automatic fire extinguishing systems in accordance with state of Ohio, city of Toledo and "JC" stipulations.
Reports of that testing and records of contracted services for that work are kept in the facilities maintenance department.
(g) Managing portable fire extinguishers(h) Health science campus: The university's environmental health and radiation safety department has the responsibility to identify, place, inspect and maintain on a regular basis the portable fire extinguishers on the campus. The annual servicing and recharging (if necessary) of fire extinguishers is performed by a certified outside contractor, familiar with the requirements of fire extinguisher maintenance protocols. The records of monthly fire extinguisher checks are kept in the environmental health and radiation safety department.(i) Main campus: The university's facilities and construction has the responsibility to identify, place, inspect and maintain on a regular basis the portable fire extinguishers on the campus. The annual servicing and recharging (if necessary) of fire extinguishers is performed in house, familiar with the requirements of fire extinguisher maintenance protocols. The records of monthly fire extinguisher checks are kept in facilities and construction.(j) Reporting and investigating life safety code and fire protection deficiencies, failures and user errors The university staff has the responsibility for ensuring the institution's compliance with life safety code or fire prevention provisions. They are asked to report any suspected deficiency in life safety code processes. This is accomplished through the initiation of work orders submitted to the facilities maintenance department, or by immediately notifying the environmental health and radiation safety department to report a life safety code violation or concern. Facilities maintenance and university police staff submits work orders or occurrence reports as applicable to initiate repair of or to draw attention to suspected or actual life safety code violations/problems.
(k) Overriding authority The director of environmental health and radiation safety has the authority to mandate the immediate correction or alleviation of any life safety code violations he/she deems serious enough to warrant such immediate action. Her/his authority for such action is fully supported by the university's administration.
(l) Performance monitors Performance monitors accurately assess the effectiveness of key aspects of the fire safety/fire prevention plan. These monitors are tracked and trended in order to develop a historical view of the rate of effectiveness.
Approved by: | Policies Superseded by This Policy: * Previous 3364-60-03, effective date July 28, 2008, Previous 3364-60-03, effective date May 28, 2014 Initial Effective Date: July 28, 2008 Review/Revision Date: September 23, 2011; September 1, 2012; March 31, 2014; July 28, 2017 Next Review Date: July 28, 2020 |
Sharon L. Gaber, Ph.D. President July 28, 2017 Date Review/Revision Completed by: Director of Environmental Health and Radiation Safety |
Ohio Admin. Code 3364-60-03
Effective: 5/12/2018
Promulgated Under: 111.15
Statutory Authority: 3364
Rule Amplifies: 3364