Common areas checked for heat-producing appliances

By Sana Yaklur     11/15/12 6:00pm

Rice University's Environmental Health and Safety Department conducted campus-wide fire code checks in all university buildings, including some residential colleges, for prohibited heat-generating devices from Nov. 5-8.

Students are prohibited from having space heaters, window units, microwaves that are not a part of the Housing and Dining approved microfridge unit, coffee makers, refrigerators that are over 3.6 cubic feet in volume and other cooking appliances in singles, doubles and suites, according to the housing contract.

So far, the colleges that have been inspected are Baker College, Duncan College, Will Rice College, Wiess College and Jones College, EHS Director Kathryn Cavender said. 

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Director of Risk Management Renee Block said that some combustibles were found in a closet in Duncan College, but the conditions have been taken care of.

According to Block, the senior property consultant surveying Rice's buildings will want to return in the spring semester to inspect the other colleges.  

Cavender said that these checks are always conducted and typically occur during winter break, during which EHS checks for maintenance and fire safety issues, as well as prohibited heat-generating devices. However, this year, the checks are occurring mid-semester as well as during winter break. 

The punishment for the possession of a prohibited heat-generating device is a fine of $200 to the individual, H&D Senior Director David McDonald said. 

Cavender said the fine was not enforced during this semester's checks because the checks were not supposed to be punitive. Individual rooms were not checked. Only the common areas were part of the inspection. Open suite common rooms were included in the inspection, but individual bedrooms were not, Cavender said.

A switch in Rice's insurance provider prompted the mid-semester checks, Cavender said. According to Cavender, every few years, Rice re-evaluates its insurance coverage and has various insurance companies submit proposals. Rice chooses the insurance company which it feels would provide the most cost-effective plan, she said. This year, Rice chose Zurich Insurance as its insurance provider.

According to Block, the previous insurance provider was Travelers, but Zurich Insurance provided the most competitive proposal. Zurich Insurance wished to inspect Rice's buildings to ensure that it was in compliance with the fire codes and current Rice policies and to check for flood, wind and fire risk, according to Cavender and Block. 

Cavender said that only H&D-approved microfridge units are allowed in dorms as these appliances have been deemed a safe option to avoid overwhelming electricity usage in buildings.

"Microwaves and fridges use a lot of energy and produce a lot of heat," Cavender said. "H&D has agreed that the H&D-approved microfridge would not overload the building in the same way.

Reactions to these checks seemed to vary between the different colleges. Jones president Julian Castro said he did not know about these checks, but both Duncan president Kelvin Pho and McMurtry College president Peter Abraham said they were informed, even though McMurtry was not inspected, about them and made sure to let everyone else in their colleges know. 

"I heard about the checks from Veronica Boorom, our H&D Senior [Operations] Manager," Abraham, a McMurtry junior, said. "Boorom asked me to send a college-wide email asking people to put away their heat-generating appliances."

Cavender said that the checks are not supposed to be a punishment.

"The colleges provide kitchenettes, with stoves for cooking and larger refrigerators and a microwave, so there is no reason that an individual needs the prohibited devices on the Housing and Dining contract," she said. "It is not punitive that we're asking students to get rid of their prohibited heat-generating devices; we're just trying to benefit everyone by ensuring the safety of the college."

Duncan sophomore Clara Roberts said she did not see the point of the room checks. 

"Not only do the searches seem unnecessary in a concrete block like Duncan, but [also] I feel a little silly as a 19-year-old hiding a coffee maker under my bed," Roberts said.

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