Although students who were planning on moving into off-campus housing near South Campus may be reconsidering their options after two fires in the past three weeks have claimed the lives of three students and injured another, realtors and fire safety experts say there are simple precautions students can take to keep them safe.
Greenline Realty agent Marc Barron, who lives on the same street as the site of the Feb. 24 fire at 21 Aberdeen St. that killed Boston University students Stephen Adelipour, 21 and Rhiannon McCuish, 21, said too many students lack a basic understanding of fire safety.
“Students ask if they can put a grill on the fire escape,” he said, adding he tells them it is against state law. “They don’t know the difference between a porch and a fire escape.”
Last Friday, a fire at 49 St. Mary’s St., which the Brookline Fire Department believes was started by a lit piece of charcoal that fell through the bottom of a grill onto a third-floor wooden porch, killed 19-year-old Derek Crowl, a Bloomsburg University sophomore.
When Barron shows potential tenants apartments in the area, he points out at least two exits in each property and mentions various hazards associated with apartment living, he said. He said he also encounters many students who do not know or simply ignore capacity limitations, which raises safety concerns.
“If there are too many people, either for a party or for something else, it can be hard to get out in the event of a fire,” he said.
Barron said students should closely examine the documents realtors give them, which lists other safety measures, such as keeping an eye on candles. The Aberdeen Street fire last month was ignited by a candle that was still lit after the students went to sleep, according to the Boston Fire Department.
“[Students] just don’t think it will happen to them,” he said.
Universities should also have the responsibility of educating their off-campus students about fire safety, Barron said.
“The university has the option of providing [on-campus] housing, so they should make students [who choose to live off campus] aware of what to expect when renting an apartment off campus,” he said.
BU officials announced this week they will work with local fire departments to develop a fire and personal-safety program for on-campus and off-campus students. Members of the BU administration held a conference Monday with local fire departments, health officials and police and town officials.
Ed Corneau, publisher of Campus Firewatch, a monthly online newsletter that monitors reports of on- and off-campus fires at colleges nationwide, said the responsibility to maintain safe living conditions falls on landlords.
“Landlords have a responsibility to make sure their apartments measure up to codes, which are the bare minimum,” he said.
State Fire Marshall spokeswoman Jennifer Mieth said Massachusetts determines its safety regulations based on the buildings, not the age or habits of their occupants — even if they are students who may need additional oversight.
“Off-campus housing is only regulated like other housing,” she said. “There’s no distinction made between students living off campus and other tenants.”
Mieth agreed that universities should educate students on safety precautions but said it is not their job to protect students every step of the way.
“The gut response is to say that the university has some responsibility,” she said. “But where do you draw the line?”