Fire Safety
Fire Safety & Emergency Evacuations
At Wellesley College we all have responsibility for fire and life safety. An important part of each person’s responsibility is being familiar with your surroundings and following these guidelines to ensure the safe and timely evacuation of all building occupants during a man-made or natural emergency:
- Respond and react to every fire alarm by evacuating quickly and safely.
- Locate the two exit pathways from your space. Count the number of doors between your room and the exits. This can assist you during an emergency evacuation.
- Know where the fire alarm pull stations on your floor are so they may be activated in the event of a potential life-threatening emergency.
- Do not block fire extinguishers and other fire safety equipment – maintain these areas for quick and easy access at all times.
- Keep egress paths clear – this includes hallways and stairwells. Do not store personal items, furniture, file cabinets, etc. in these areas.
- Ensure that fire doors are kept closed at all times.
- Cook only where permitted and never leave cooking unattended.
- Do not smoke inside buildings.
- Do not overload electrical outlets.
- Have an escape plan and always have an alternative exit.
Other Resources
- Keeping Safe at Wellesley -- 2024 New Student Orientation
- Do's and Don'ts for Wellesley College Students
- Building Evacuations
- Holiday Fire Safety
- Basics of Fire Extinguisher use
- Extension Cords: Do's and Don'ts
- Residential Life Prohibited Items
- Annual Campus Security and Fire Safety Report
- Muster Points for Residence Halls
Fire Safety Videos
- Residence Hall Cooking Fire Safety (79 sec) credit: Michael H Minger Foundation
- Two Ways Out - the importance of knowing a second way out of any building (78 sec) credit: Michael H Minger Foundation
- Smoke Alarms and Fire Sprinklers in Residence Halls (48 sec) credit: Michael H. Minger Foundation
- Dorm Room Fire Side by Side Comparison (3.22 min) Watch a fire consume a dorm room in real time and see how sprinklers give you time to escape in a side by side comparison. credit: Campus Firewatch and Kent State University
- Office Setting Test Burn Video (7 min) credit: NIST and Livonia FD
- Timed Total Room Burn and Flashover Phenomenon (5 min) credit: NIST and Livonia FD
- Home Fire Sprinkler vs. No Fire Sprinkler - side-by-side comparison (90 sec) credit: Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition
- Close Your Door - the importance of keeping your bedroom door closed at night, or using a closed door as a barrier against fire spread (5 min) credit: Underwriters Laboratory UL
Questions or Concerns?
Contact Fire Safety Officers at x3885, or email:
- Ken Tremblay, ktremblay@rooyi.net
- Robert Cunha, rcunha@rooyi.net