In the wake of the tragic dorm fire at Seton Hall University, which took the lives of three students, ISU Department of Residence officials confirm that the residence halls have adequate fire-safety prevention, .

Randy Alexander, director of residence, said steps have already been taken to prevent such tragedies from occurring on the ISU campus. He said ISU dorms are up-to-date with the buildings’ fire codes.

Alexander said the recently renovated Maple Hall is the most technologically advanced in fire prevention safety with sprinklers, smoke detectors and pressurized stairwells to keep the smoke from contaminating the area.

Also, when Maple fire alarms go off, Alexander said the elevator doors close to prevent people from entering them.

“Maple Hall is said to be the best and safest [residence hall] in the state,” he said.

Representatives from the Ames Fire Department were brought into contractor meetings to help with the design and safety code matters, Alexander added.

Oak-Elm Hall also has had some fire-prevention renovation over the past semester, such as the addition of new fire escapes. “We spend money every summer to update the buildings,” Alexander said.

Many students from Seton Hall did not leave their dorm rooms because of the numerous false fire alarms they had experienced since the fall of ’99.

False fire alarms also occur on the ISU campus, but Virginia Arthur, associate director of residence, said it hasn’t been much of a problem.

“We stiffened the penalties and found ways to identify people who pull the alarms,” Arthur said.

Other false alarms are triggered on purpose to help educate residents on what to do in case of a fire. The announced fire alarms are required to be run within the first three weeks of school.

“The [resident assistants] go over the procedures with the residents, and we check to make sure that everyone has been evacuated,” Arthur said.

Aaron Schmidt, RA of Greene House in Larch Hall, said the residents haven’t experienced any false alarms due to another resident’s idea of a prank.

“I think they’re pretty smart,” said Schmidt, senior in computer engineering. “They’d face up to a $50 fine.”

Alexander said even though students might know what to do in case of a fire, it’s just a matter of whether they act on the drill.

“People always think it’s a false alarm,” he said.

System failures in Maple Hall at the beginning of the fall semester were the cause of numerous false alarms. Alexander recalled one particular problem with an alarm in the building that now has been fixed.

“A detector happened to be close to a bathroom, and whenever someone would be taking a shower, the steam would escape and cause the alarm to go off,” Alexander said.

Several policies have been enforced by the ISU Department of Residence to prevent fires. Lit or unlit candles are not allowed in the dorms, and some students have learned the hard way by getting written up for having them in their rooms.

“I was sitting in my room talking with some friends, and my RA walked by and noticed the candles,” said Jessica Rose, freshman in chemistry. “On her way back, she stopped into my room and told me that unlit candles are a violation of the residence hall policies.”