Safety of Fire Escapes Questioned

Although fire escapes like the one Theodore P. Klupinski '95 fell from yesterday are designed to save lives, in recent years the structures appear to have caused more accidents then they have prevented.

While fires in College dormitories and houses are rare, falls from fire escapes are far too common.

Yesterday, Klupinski fell from a third-floor escape in Claverly Hall. In the autumn of 1990 another student escaped with minor injuries after falling from a fourth or fifth floor fire escape in Grays middle during a party there. A few years ago, according to Associate Dean of Harvard College Thomas A. Dingman '67 a student took a "very serious" fall from a Holworthy Hall fire escape.

Falls from balconies, especially during drunken parties, have also been reported in the past three years.

The fire department keeps no statistics on accidents involving fire escapes in the city, said Cambridge Deputy Fire Chief Michael E. Kuhn.

The College's longstanding rule about fire escapes, stated in the student handbook, reads, "Fire escapes are intended only for use in a fire; any other uses are prohibited."

The handbook says violating fire safety regulations can lead to a student being required to withdraw from the University.

But the rule is not very carefully enforced, except in the Yard, where proctors and passing administrators generally warn students off the fire escapes.

"We have chased people off the fire escapes of Weld from time to time," said Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III.

Dingman said students have been disciplined internally by houses for misusing fire escapes. And he said the Administrative Board, the College's disciplinary body, has heard cases involving abuse of fire fighting materials and alarms.

Although most of the recent accidents have been caused by student negligence, the escape structures negligence, the somewhat outmoded.

And while there is no evidence that Klupinski's fall was caused by anything wrong with the Claverly Hall fire escape, if the undergraduate had lived in a newer building he might not have had a fire escape.

The outdoor metal structures, designed to provide students with a quick exit from a burning building, are becoming rarer and rarer, officials say.

Instead, new buildings are made of more fire-resistant materials. More recent Harvard buildings use less wood and more steel. Some feature automated sprinkler systems. Rooms in others have access to two regular staircases.

"It's preferred to have a second egress within the building," said Kuhn. "Modern construction is more apt to have [a second exit] within the building."

But Harvard is an old University, with old buildings like Claverly, built in 1892. With them come old safety measures, like fire escapes. And these can be hazardous.

Kuhn, the deputy chief, said Harvard "should make the people aware of the purpose of fire escapes." He said he believes the College is taking such precautions.

Epps said the fire escapes "are supposed to be fully functional."

Dingman said he does not know how often the fire escapes are inspected, or when the most recent renovations were made to Claverly Hall, which houses overflow from Quincy, Adams and Lowell Houses.

Quincy House Superintendent Ronald W. Levesque, who could be seen inspecting the Claverly fire escape after the accident, refused to comment on the fire escape's condition.

Stephen E. Frank and D. Richard de Silva contributed to the reporting of this story.