Why must residents evacuate their residence hall every time there’s a fire alarm, even if it’s just a drill?
We take our residents’ welfare seriously, and that includes fire safety! When the alarm sounds, residents must ALWAYS evacuate completely, and not return to the building until the “all clear” is given. Failure to evacuate during any fire alarm, real or drill, will result in a judicial referral and possibly a serious sanction. Similarly, turning in false alarms or tampering with fire safety equipment will result in severe consequences. Each residence hall is required to schedule one fire drill per year in order to comply with the Virginia state fire code. The drill provides residents and staff with practice in the event of a real fire or other evacuation emergency. Alarms and other components of the fire safety system are checked to see that they are working properly. Fire drills generally occur from mid-October through early November, between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. In accordance with the university room entry policy, residents receive prior notification of the general timeframe for t
