Only 18 students living on campus failed to attend this year’s compulsory fire safety talk. Of the 18, only four failed to seek permission for their absence from the Senior Accommodation Officer.
The talks, which take place on campus and in Trinity Hall, are for all students taking up residence in the College’s accommodation. It is to help them understand their safety net for fire situations, such as where the fire exit signs lead to and what to do if they discover a flame. Students who fail to attend face a €250 fine.
In an email from Hazel Kinmonth, a Senior Executive Officer in the Accommodation Office, to Head of Accommodation Anthony Dempsey, obtained by The University Times under the Freedom of Information Act, Kinmonth laid out the figures of those who had not attended.
There was a proposal to arrange a small lecture for those who had missed the initial one. It was subsequently decided, however, to allow these students to attend the talk held in January, organized for students coming to live on campus for the second term. Students who failed to attend were sent a PowerPoint presentation that they were required to watch.
In correspondence from Security Services Manager Michael Murray and Safety Officer for Fire Safety Karl Flynn from early October, both said that they “had a very good attendance this year”.
Kinmonth re-iterated that they didn’t hand out any fines this time but if these students failed to attend in January, they would be fined. It is a legal requirement, under the Fire Services Act 1981, that such a fire safety lecture be held, and attendance is therefore compulsory.
Fire safety is not something that can be skipped over, students need to learn about what to do in the event of a fire and the right equipment that should be used for different types of fire. A fire extinguisher service will provide the necessary equipment and will keep up to date with inspections to make sure everything is working normally. Students need to learn about all this, so missing lectures on fire safety is putting them and others at risk.
With 1,000 students residing in Trinity Hall and hundreds more based on the main campus in the city center, the fire talks are part of students’ general initiation to Trinity life. At the meetings, which are held at the start of each term, students are informed of what to do in the event of a fire and warned that tampering with any fire safety equipment located in apartments will lead to repercussions.
