Your Hall

5 things you need to know about fire safety in LSE halls

By Halls 20 Sep 2023

We rely on each other to keep the halls safe from fire. Here are the things that I've learned from my time as a Warden at LSE. 

1. Never cover up your smoke alarm

Covering a fire alarm puts everyone in the building, your friends and staff members, at risk. Tampering with any fire equipment is a criminal offence.

The worst excuses that I've heard so far:

"the steam from the tap might set off the alarm so I covered it" and "my deodorant would set off the alarm so I covered it"

If you see this in your hall please inform your warden.

2. Respond proactively to a fire alarm

If you hear the fire alarm, evacuate the building and assemble at the designated fire assembly point. It might be tempting to quickly nip to your room and grab your favourite items, but leaving the building immediately should be your main priority.

3. Don't use candles

This is often overlooked but you should be aware that candles, or naked flames, are not permitted in our halls of residence. We're afraid that does include birthday candles (cakes are encouraged though!).

4. Don't leave things cooking unattended

A lot of accidents that occur in the kitchen start from an unattended pan on the hob. If you're someone that tends to turn to Netflix whilst the spaghetti's cooking, it's time to say pasta la vista to the TV and hello to being responsible.

5. Don't prop fire doors open

Fire doors are specifically designed to delay the progress of a fire. They can only do this if they are closed as they are designed to expand and create a seal between the door and door frame that keeps a barrier.