Emergency Fire Response

The Environmental Health & Safety Department stands ready 24 hours-a-day to respond to any fire alarm or report of burning odors. Our duty is to assure the safety of everyone on the OSU Campus.

However, fire alarms alone do not ensure any person's safety unless that person knows how to safely exit a building when the fire alarm sounds.

Fire Drills are conducted twice a year in all residence halls.  The first drill is scheduled early in the fall semester and all residents are told in advance.  The second drill is conducted some time during the spring semester with no advance warning.

If residents do not evacuate a hall in a reasonable amount of time, the drill is repeated until EHS officials are satisfied with the evacuation time.  All repeat drills are unannounced.

Fire drills are also conducted on a regular basis for the University Health Clinic and the Child Development Day Care Center.   Drills for other campus buildings are not conducted unless requested and scheduled by the building's occupants.

When the fire alarm sounds, you should leave the building immediately--even if someone else tells you it is a false alarm. Do not use the elevator and do not assume it is an alarm test (unless a test has been announced)--fire alarms should never be taken lightly.

You may go back into the building when personnel from the Stillwater Fire Dept., OSU PD, or Environmental Health & Safety tell you it is safe to re-enter.

EHS responds to a fire alarm (24 hours-a-day, 365 days-a-year) to assist the Fire Department with building and room entry. EHS can also provide information about a particular area due to their familiarity with the fire alarm system and practice of inspecting buildings. They help locate the alarm area for the Fire Department by checking and operating the fire alarm control panel. While trained in fire-fighting techniques, EHS personnel do not fight fires unless the Fire Department asks for their assistance.

_