Understanding the New Emergency Notification Provisions of the HEOA
Fire Log
What it is
The fire log holds a record of all reportable fires in on-campus student housing facilities. This log is very similar to the long-standing crime log institutions maintain and the reporting requirements were designed in accordance with the crime log.
Where to make it available
The log must be available for inspection by the public for the most recent 60-day period. Any portion of the log older than 60 days must be made available within two business days of a request for inspection.
Log maintenance and reporting
The fire log must be easily understood and should record, by the date the fire was reported, any fire that occurred in an on-campus student housing facility. Additions or changes to the log must be made within two business days of the receipt of the information.
There is not a specified format for the log, except that it should be organized by the date the fire was reported. Institutions must make an annual report to the campus community on the fires in the fire log, but can choose to issue this report in the Annual Fire Safety Report; meaning the fire log can become part of the Annual Fire Safety Report if the institution so chooses.
What to include
Elements to be included in the fire log are fairly straightforward and include:
- Any fire that occurred in an on-campus student housing facility
- Date of each fire
- Time of each fire
- Nature of each fire
- General location of each fire
Important Considerations
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has codes and standards that must be followed when planning for fire safety. The NFPA rules can be accessed at www.nfpa.org. These rules are intended to minimize the possibility and effects of fires and affect virtually every building, process, service, design, and installation both domestically and internationally.
When planning and implementing a mass notification system, institutions should also consider what role fire safety and fire alerts will play in emergency communications. Institutions must take into account the need for targeting specific areas of the campus and accommodating employees and students with disabilities. Inova OnAlert has the capability of integrating with various fire panels. This allows for emergency messages to be triggered by the fire panel to broadcast on Inova OnAlert LED displays when safety is at risk due to a fire. Messages can be pre-defined or customized by an authorized user and targeted to specific areas of a campus. Customizable, multimodal messaging is an important feature of an effective emergency notification system.
Find out how to make Inova OnAlert Part of Your Emergency Notification Solution