University - Halls of Residence

olly300

sooz wrote: »

I think the OP said the kitchen was 2m x2m

That's ridiculous. They were obviously built with the though that students only eat breakfast and takeaways.

sciencegeek

how about getting an old shoebox and put some cds in it - label the box 'anthrax' (as in the band) and sprinkle some talc over the box for good measure.

If an inspection should 'come across' the box im sure they would get a nice scare - its not your fault if they mis-interpret your cd filing system!!

Blodwen

robin_banks wrote: »

If some young roisterer wants to bring back a WKD fuelled floozy that's his business and not some pathetic draconian rule.

Agree entirely, but from a fire safety point of view there should be a record of extra people in the building (not that this has anything to do with the one night a year thing, that seems to be a stupid rule that has nothing to do with fire safety and will surely only make sure people break the rules so less will be known about numbers...)

neverdespairgirl

FTBFun wrote: »

Its not Roehampton as a couple of my friends have studied there and I would have heard about this rubbish, and I doubt is Greenwich as that's more South East/East

Greenwich is still Saarf London though

Caroline_a

Annoying though it is, I think the fire drill thing is quite common in Universities up and down the land - it certainly was when my daughter was there. I guess it's a lot better than burning to death though - I never remember having a single fire drill in my halls when I was at uni.

As far as your TV goes, they probably will report you to the licencing authorities, as you do need a licence. They won't want to be responsible for you breaking the law, hence will wash their hands of the responsibility.

You seem to be unhappy at the restrictions in halls - why not move out at Christmas?

Tom2010

Funnily enough, you were right about the internet too. Heavily censored also! So the fire searches are important on the off chance someone is tied to a bed and left there by a partner? You must be kidding me! Someone must be a) tied to a bed in the first place b) incidentally at the same time as a life threatening fire takes hold all over the building c) the person who tied them there happens to be out of the room d) the person who tied them there evacuates the building but forgets about the kinky bondage session they were engaged in just minutes earlier, and e) the person tied to the bed is unable to free themselves or shout for help.

Surely MUCH more danger is posed from sending halls of residence staff into a possible burning building (wearing office clothing) to check every single room, before the arrival of the fire brigade? Get out, stay out, get the fire brigade out. At least I think that’s the phrase they used to use.

Quite frankly, if I, as an adult, make the conscious decision to stay in my room and risk burning to death when the fire alarm goes off, then so be it, that’s my decision to make. If I was diagnosed with a serious illness and refused consent for treatment that would save my life, they would have no choice but to let me die...a similar principle surely applies!

They are definitely fire drills...not just students setting off the alarms. How do I know? Because every time it goes off, security staff are already on the top floor of the building standing outside our rooms by the alarm control panel with folded arms. Once everyone is out, they thank us for leaving the building and give us a speech about how “if this wasn’t just a drill....” etc. The one time a student actually set it off themselves, we all knew about it because the alarms are automatically linked to London Fire Brigade and a fire engine pulled up outside the building just minutes later with blue lights flashing and sirens blaring.

Blue tack on the walls? Certainly not. Nothing whatsoever is allowed to be secured to the walls. We have a small cork notice board which is ironically full up of warning posters from the University telling us exactly what we can and cannot do. Blue tack, pins or staples are a big no no. It also tells us how often we have to wash our shower curtain to avoid being fined.

Can anybody confirm that halls of residence come under HMO regulations, as I may explore this option with regards to the kitchen?

It is nothing to do with UNITE. Nor LSBU, or Roehampton, but you’re getting very warm.

And for the record, our halls kitchen is MUCH smaller than the size of an average family kitchen. We have the smallest on campus, all the other halls are reasonably sized to be fair. Visitors are shocked when they see how bad ours really are! You could just about squash 4 people into the kitchen if they all stood close together and didn’t bend over/try to open a fridge door. Nowhere near enough space to erect an ironing board for example.

Loving the ‘anthrax’ idea.... if I wasn’t after both a BSc (Hons) AND a professional registration at the end of the course, then I’d be sorely tempted to try it!

Jowo_2

Restrictions on naked flames (such as candles and joss sticks) and restrictions on certain types of equipment in rooms are common across all University accommodation. Certainly when I worked and lived in one many years ago, it was the norm. I believe that a halls of residence at another University had a serious fire caused by a candle.

"Most residence hall fires are caused bycandles, open flame cooking equipment, or overtaxed electrical systems. Toxic gases in smoke, usually caused by burning plastic,can render a person unconscious in a few seconds."

http://www.ioe.ac.uk/studentInformation/documents/AccommodationBooklet_HR_low_res2.pdf

Smoke detectors are sensitive and steam from cooking and showers can set them off. In my halls of residence from years ago, the most common reason for a fire evacuation was from students propping open fire doors in the kitchen while they cooked, or burning food they left unattended or leaving a door open after they had a shower or done deliberately for 'fun' to cause an evaculation when they returned in the early hours from clubbing.

From memory, I think we had one or two fire drills per year which were repeated if students ignored them by staying in their bed which would result in them having their tenancy terminated. As the fire officer put it 'Why should one of my men die because you are lazy? It's idiots like you that cause innocent people to lose their lives'.

Here's some info on the fire safety in student halls which means the OP may find the rules a nuisance but they save lives

http://www.hantsfire.gov.uk/stories.htm?newsid=53129

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Student-death-matter-time/article-2003440-detail/article.html

http://www.merseyfire.gov.uk/aspx/pages/LocalNews/LocalDetail.aspx?id=407

http://www.journal-online.co.uk/article/3162-emergency-services-issue-warning-to-freshers
http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2010/04/06/hospital-and-students-worst-for-north-wales-fire-service-call-outs-55578-26182552/

http://www.student-direct.co.uk/2010/04/students-ignore-alarms-during-two-owens-park-fires/

Imp

Jowo wrote: »

"Most residence hall fires are caused bycandles, open flame cooking equipment, or overtaxed electrical systems.

Better not pay that TV licence then.

Blodwen

Jowo wrote: »

From memory, I think we had one or two fire drills per year which were repeated if students ignored them by staying in their bed which would result in them having their tenancy terminated. As the fire officer put it 'Why should one of my men die because you are lazy? It's idiots like you that cause innocent people to lose their lives'.

Yep, that's right - need to have 2 satisfactory drills a year, with satisfactory meaning everyone out within a specified time (depends on size of building etc.). If they're doing them much more than this though it's unnecessary.

lynzpower

Buildings occupied by students

4(1)Any building—

(a)which is occupied solely or principally by persons who occupy it for the purpose of undertaking a full-time course of further or higher education at a specified educational establishment or at an educational establishment of a specified description, and

(b)where the person managing or having control of it is the educational establishment in question or a specified person or a person of a specified description.

(2)In sub-paragraph (1) “specified” means specified for the purposes of this paragraph in regulations made by the appropriate national authority.

(3)Sub-paragraph (4) applies in connection with any decision by the appropriate national authority as to whether to make, or revoke, any regulations specifying—

(a)a particular educational establishment, or

(b)a particular description of educational establishments.

(4)The appropriate national authority may have regard to the extent to which, in its opinion—

(a)the management by or on behalf of the establishment in question of any building or buildings occupied for connected educational purposes is in conformity with any code of practice for the time being approved under section 233 which appears to the authority to be relevant, or

(b)the management of such buildings by or on behalf of establishments of the description in question is in general in conformity with any such code of practice,

as the case may be.
(5)In sub-paragraph (4) “occupied for connected educational purposes”, in relation to a building managed by or on behalf of an educational establishment, means occupied solely or principally by persons who occupy it for the purpose of undertaking a full-time course of further or higher education at the establishment.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/34/schedule/14
thanks to TBS I was not aware of this.