Fall 2001
Fall 2001
Fire safety and safe housing highlighted in education drive
by Janet Huseby
The UC Berkeley campus has a new goal this fall: No student moves into an apartment or rental home unless a smoke detector is in place and working.
The goal is a key part of a major effort under way by the university - and the city of Berkeley - to promote safety for Berkeley's tenants, including the more than 20,000 university students, faculty, staff and visiting scholars who are renters in the surrounding community. The campaign was galvanized by the tragic deaths of two UC Berkeley students last school year in separate fires.
On February 9, shortly after the second fire, UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Berdahl convened a fire safety summit, bringing together officials from the campus and the cities of Berkeley and Oakland to take immediate steps to improve the safety of rental housing. The summit was the beginning of a comprehensive and coordinated fire safety campaign that is working not only to ensure the safety of the housing stock but also to raise renters' "fire consciousness."
Last spring Cal Rentals, a university-operated housing agency, organized 24 "how-to-rent" workshops held in the campus residence halls, which included a fire safety component and advice to prospective tenants in assessing the safety of a prospective rental.
"Of course we expect our landlords to operate professionally, and the truth is that the vast majority do," says Cal Rentals Assistant Director Becky White, "But perhaps if we can get students to avoid unsafe rentals by knowing what to look for, we can create a level of awareness that will go a long way toward averting any tragedies."
"Students may not know what fire hazards to look for in a house," she added, "and once in the house, many have not yet acquired common fire safety sense. For instance, some students assume that a chirping smoke detector is broken, not that it needs a new battery. And some students remove the batteries from smoke detectors to use in their radio or Walkman."
A campus task force on safe student housing is delivering its safety message through thousands of glossy "Fire Safety Sense" brochures, ads in buses and newspapers, flyers with book purchases, envelope stuffers, a booth at student orientation, and a Web site. The campaign also involves educating parents through campus newsletters.
In July, the city of Berkeley passed an ordinance establishing a rental housing inspection program to ensure that landlords are in compliance with housing safety standards. Under current law all rental units must be equipped with smoke detectors in the common areas of every apartment, every bedroom in a rooming house and on every floor of a single-family house. In addition, windows must open and
shut easily.
UC Deputy Fire Marshall Kent Kirby, far right, discusses fire safety brochure with students Hillary Cheung, Susan Basu, Peter Sugimura and Ben Zaks
Details of the inspection ordinance were worked out collaboratively among representatives from the campus, city, owners and tenants. "A lot of effort was put into making it work for everyone," says city of Berkeley Senior Planner Teri Piccolo.
Under the ordinance, property owners are required to certify that rental property meets Berkeley's safety rules. Additionally, owners must have property inspected by a third party for carbon monoxide seepage. Copies of the self-certification must be mailed to both the city and tenants.
Tenants who do not agree with the owner's self-assessment may ask the city for an inspection. The ordinance also calls for owners to notify the city when their units are vacant and available for a city inspection, which will be made separately from the owner self-certification. All new renters should receive safety certification from their landlords within 35 days of signing a lease. Renters currently occupying a unit should receive certification by July 2002.
The goal of the ordinance is not to be punitive but to safeguard the lives of Berkeley renters. Landlords whose units are found to be unsafe will not be fined initially but rather issued a "fix-it" ticket. Likewise, tenants who have created a safety hazard by damaging property will be held accountable.
The campus is contributing funding toward the costs of the rental inspection program. The city and campus have also applied jointly for a federal grant to fund a coordinated fire safety program. But it will take time as well as money for the inspection program to be fully implemented.
See www.ehs.berkeley.edu/offcampusfiresafety.html for a self-inspection checklist to use in assessing the safety of any living situation. For information on the city of Berkeley's Rental Housing Safety Program, call (510) 981-5444. The city will provide and install free smoke detectors for all residents who request them by calling the Berkeley Fire Department at (510) 981-5585.
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