The Fire/Life Safety standard is designed to ensure the safety and well-being of all individuals within Campus Housing by preventing actions that could endanger lives or property. Fire and life safety measures are critical for maintaining a safe living environment, and any actions that compromise these measures are prohibited. Students must adhere to safety protocols and respond promptly to fire alarms to avoid risk to themselves and others.

The following actions breach NSCC’s Campus Housing Community Standards and may result in sanctions:

• Intentionally setting fires, lighting flammable materials, or creating open flames.
• Activating fire alarms or sprinklers without cause, or tampering with fire safety equipment such as fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, heat sensors, sprinkler systems, elevators, and alarm systems.
• Using candles, incense, or other combustible materials that pose a fire hazard.
• Overloading electrical outlets by plugging in multiple appliances, devices, or power strips into one outlet or into each other.
• Failing to evacuate when a fire alarm is activated, or delaying evacuation. Blocking or restricting access to evacuation routes, doors, or hallways.

Please refer to the NSCC Smudging Guidelines Policy and Procedures and Campus-specific guidelines for additional information regarding smudging in Campus Housing.

This standard is in place to protect everyone’s safety by ensuring all fire and life safety equipment remains functional and that emergency procedures are followed without delay.

Examples of Breaches of Fire/Life Safety

The following are examples of breaches that may occur in Campus Housing. Please note that these examples are fictitious and have been created by NSCC Housing & Student Life staff as hypotheticals, based on years of experience working in housing. They are not reflective of current student breaches. Responses to breaches may vary depending on the specific circumstances, including the severity of the behavior, the impact on others, and any prior breaches. The details of each situation will be carefully considered before determining the appropriate action.

A student places a plastic bag over the hard-wired smoke detector in their suite to prevent it from going off. This action directly breaches fire safety protocols by tampering with essential safety equipment. (Level 3 Standard breach)