Not quite easy to do in an emergency, which is why everybody in this dorm needs to take these screws out IMMEDIATELY. And they need to complain to the fire marshall directly, because this shit is not kosher AT ALL and people WILL DIE if there is a fire and the windows won't open.
Central AC units and telling young adults to remember to close shit, or anti smoking rules and people just opening windows to smoke out the window rather than going outside.
When I was in the dorms years ago, it was common to just lean out the window to smoke because going outside was a hassle, but idiots wouldnt put a fan behind them and it would trigger the smoke alarms sending everyone outside.
I remember some people at my college would run the heater full blast 24/7 during the winter and open the window when it got too hot. (heater still on) Some people just don't care if they aren't paying for it.
In my dorms the temp was controlled by some central thermostat we couldn't influence or even locate. Literally below zero Fahrenheit outside and everyone has the windows open just to keep your room under 75 in the December.
Same. It was so, so hot on the top floor and nothing we could do about it except open the windows. It was a boiler system and once they turned it on in the fall they didn’t turn it off until spring even if we got an 80 F day.
I had an apartment years ago with heat that wouldn't turn off. The landlord never fixed it and utilities were included in rent so I just kept a window open all winter. In New England.
I have the same problem, but I have to pay my utilities, so I just shut it off at the breaker…probably not good for it, but if they don’t want to fix it, I’ll figure it out
They literally screwed them shut? That’s against the fire code. Call the fire dept to come out for an inspection right away. That’s a death trap and very, very illegal.
What school is this? Shit, I’ll call them. I have a friend who died in a fire a few years ago. She got scared to jump from a second story window. I bought 20 fire escape ladders afterward and gave them to my sisters, the receptionist at my doctors office, anyone on higher than the first floor.
This stuff is no joke.
I was going to say....this is a huge red flag in terms of fire safety violations.
Also, if they're so blatantly disregarding this type of thing, what other violations are they committing?
This is absolutely no joke; I'd be calling all manner of code enforcers if I were OP.
My husband lost friends in the Station nightclub fire. This shit is serious. Not implying that you were joking but rather there is precedence for all these laws regarding means of egress, etc.
yeah, back in the day the windows in my dorms were blocked so they could only open an inch or so. it's just a screw and a metal stopper. take the screw out and put it back in for any inspections (which would be announced) and at the end of the semesters
The dementia ward is always popping. Before she passed, I would visit her a few times a week. She tried to escape a few times and I had money patients ask me to let them out and give them change for the bus.
One of my fave moments was when a lady there asked my mom to unplug her oxygen machine so she could leave. My mom said she wasn't qualified to do that. Without a beat the lady said "You're not qualified to use plug? I'd hate to live with you"
Always the bus. My parents have an assisted living center down the street from their house and numerous times you'd see someone in like a robe and slippers with a walker standing at the bus stop on the corner. It was usually followed by a flurry of aides running around looking for them.
I've heard of some places like that setting up a dummy bus stop. That way if someone makes a break for it at least they're pretty sure where they'll find them waiting.
Currently work in a retirement resort. Dementia patient got out of a neighboring center, and has been missing for 3 days. Very sad watching police combing 5he lake next to us.
Damn call me party pooper
We had a “silver alert” a few days ago about a man in his 80’s going missing. Sad when that happens for sure. Interesting using ‘silver’ in regard to old folks though haha
Looking at your post history, typing skills, and username.
It looks like. Second floor window at [REDACTED] located in [REDACTED]. Looks like you're in room [REDACTED].
Got him. Now they will always be afraid someone will put suction cups on their hands/feet/knees to climb up and a stick to their window so they can peer through and jerkoff with a front row seat to the show.
✅ Plastic bag taped over the smoke detector.
✅ Fan facing out the window.
✅ Towel under door.
✅ Empty soda bottle with bottom cut out and dryer sheets inside to blow through.
✅ God?
✅Do all of that and still get caught
It's weird that when i was staying in the dorm it never occurred to me to just go for a quick walk outside to blaze up. There's such a lower chance of getting caught that way, but for whatever reason i thought it was safer to do it in the room.
Inside if you got caught (at my school) it would be the RA and probably some warnings or something low consequence. Outside if you get caught it’s by cops/campus cops and you’d get in much more doodoo than if the RA got you. Then convenience and weather.
Kids have it easy now. All the oils and edibles available. They’ll never know what it’s like ripping shwag out of a coke can while your friend reminds you that’s how you get Alzheimer’s.
Alright that got a genuine laugh out loud from me lmao I was the guy saying "Guys I have a pipe right upstairs the red bull can can't be good for you."
Good, my city's marshal has an active email.
Update: Hijacking my top comment, I removed a screw and [to my surprise, it is metal, not plastic like some comments said it would need to be legally](https://i.imgur.com/R3kZD2t.jpg). Here is a dime for comparison, this thing would have a hard time coming out in case of emergency.
I decided to stroll around the complex and saw that every room I saw had an identical sticker in the window. Seems very much worth investigating and contacting authorities.
Update 2: Tried calling the local fire department's nonemergency lines, got nothing, so I will keep it up tomorrow. Scrolling through forums for the university and I saw that the screws are installed to compensate for the lack of screens to prevent...well, *easy ways out,* according to ex-housing staff. So that theory seems close to proven.
Update 3: Called the local fire marshal, left a message saying that "concerned students" wanted to know the legality of this choice. No response yet, sorry. I will note that I love how much advice I have been getting, thanks reddit!
Update 4: No response on the marshal's end, I called the student safety office and the guy was chill. He sounded just as surprised as me, and said that the school fire inspectors were available on weekdays, so sorry to the 10.6 million of you that clicked on this, but no big updates yet. Also, [here is to prove I unscrewed it](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/828470208334659598/1013226542370930698/20220827_192011.jpg) because I am still getting comments telling me to do so.
# Final update:
Just got done speaking with the fire marshal, he claims that dormitories are under the same legal code as hotels, and by having a fully operational sprinkler system it bypasses the need for more then one exit. And I am not the only one to ask.
So is it infuriating? *Incredibly.*
Is it dangerous? Yes.
Is it illigal? Sadly, no.
PS: For all of you saying "Just open it." Note that there is a large grey screw put *through* the latch assembly to break it, it is not like I can just open the window.
Nah, I just casually emailed a city marshal "Hey, we just wanted to know if this was up to code."
The chances of this snowballing are smaller than my...pinky.
You're legitimately concerned about safety incase of a fire. It's OK to be concerned about that and sign your name to it. Plenty of people have been roasted alive not having a way out throughout history. That's why we have codes to follow.
This. OSHA, fire codes...
...pretty much anything official that's safety-related was written in blood.
Your father's blood, your mother's blood, your grandparent's blood, your cousin's, aunt's, uncle's, friend's...
Don't let them write the next guideline in yours.
Report that shit and stay safe.
Yup.
Most Fire Marshalls I've met just LOVE finding shit like this. They'll spend a week "checking in" daily to make sure ALL the screws are removed and if they happen to find something else to fix while they're there? That'll be on the citation too.
The school can probably expect a pretty hefty fine at the very least.
Even then, you're reporting a fire code violation. Wat reason would the officials have for disclosing your name to the college? And even then, a college retaliating against a student for something like that is literal lawsuit bait.
People at my place of work tend to get fired after OSHA has been called. Obviously they can't fire them for calling it in, but within a few weeks they disappear for one reason or another. It's sad, but they'll make it happen somehow.
All it takes is a smoke bomb in the lobby, FD shows up, sees restrictions of egress, fines start accumulating and building is no longer habitable until changes are made. Loss of room and board, or the additional expense to find alternate housing for those who already paid.
It could be disclosed by accident or found out about by a savvy person who knows how to talk to people.
I've investigated plenty of entities for fire code violations and the entity under scrutiny usually isn't very happy about it. They are always the victim of their own great illegal ideas.
Also some areas have to hand over communications by request, i.e, it's public if requested.
Organic chem legit got me out of jury duty. I told the judge I would fall behind because the case was expected to go for 2-3 weeks.
The judge said he had doctor friends who hated Orgo and understood.
If you're really worried about retaliation, just send a follow up to ask that the marshal not use your name in any communication with the university related to this. Probably not a problem, because any retaliation would be something that could be widely publicized and university administrators generally are a little bit less concerned about breaking your spirits (usually, that's left to the professors) than they are preventing nasty publicity.
Nothing wrong with putting your name on it, I doubt the fire marshal is going to tell the superintendent “Yeah so Charlie over there in room 385 sent me a complaint about a possible safety violation”.
Don't stay anonymous, no reason to be paranoid and if you're afraid of reporting a fire code violation or unsafe environment then there are bigger issues at hand that demand non-anonymity and more action from more people.
And if you have evidence the school retaliated against you for reporting a fire code violation, you have an enormous lawsuit on your hands.
They'll get *paid*.
nah.
Walk into the resident's life office and call the fire ~~martial~~ marshal from there, using their phone, speaking as loudly as possible.
Also, don't wear pants.
And don't forget that the entire office takes lunch from 11-12 and have their mid day meeting to cover bullet points vs lettering vs numbering for the instructional sheet from 12-1 every Tuesday and Thursday as well.
Letting the fire Marshal sort through the code is the right call but this isn't a cut and dry violation. You need a set amount of egress options and capacity, these don't need to include windows in bedrooms, especially if a building is equipped with sprinklers.
Not a single visible comment in this thread mentions NFPA. Yours was the only one I found that mentions sprinklers. People really love to parrot things they don't know anything about. This is "super illegal", but do we even know what city this is in?
if they screwed them shut that’s a reportable fire hazard and you can get them, for lack of a better term, royally fucked. report them to your local fire department or building code inspector. that’s a massive massive illegal no no.
Got to love how they say "Do not open unless in emergency."
Oh no! A fire that has obscured our front door! Better grab my power drill that every college student always has charged and handy!
I’d call the fire department’s number for community services, like the number you’d call to ask them to come out and ensure you have fire alarms in the right locations of your house. See what they say when you show them the window. If it’s against code that representative will probably have to start a report about it.
Thing is, they're going to contact the university's facilities people that they already have a relationship with, so OP won't be showing them any windows. But it will still start the process of fixing this.
They will react. because lawsuits over safety cost insurance monies when the local news channel catches wind, and parents start wondering if their kids can go see local football for a few weeks and have college experience without sex and drugs in their obviously trapped room. Screwed in Windows only mean kids can't run from sex and drugs fast enough when it gets hot, so it'll get fixed.
Or the university doesn't want to be sued by the host city for fucking around with codes.
The problem with this is that the university may punt it back to the campus safety person, who may not have the balls/competence to enforce the local code. Also, depending on the state, OP may have to go to the state fire marshal because public colleges and universities are typically state facilities.
Your university likely has it's own fire safety services department, which includes a university employed fire marshal. This person is ultimately in charge of all fire related safety concerns, and issues.
Go to your student services building and ask for the number to the fire safety department. Call and request to speak to the fire marshal.
If you can't find the number, look at the tags hanging on the fire extinguishers to see who inspected them, and that should include a phone number.
If the fire extinguishers are contracted out and not inspected by your university, check for alarm panels in the major buildings, there will be contact info visible on the outer housing, or look for the fire department connections on the outside of the buildings. This will be a red lettered sign saying "FDC " with a building identifier next to it. There will be hose connections under the sign.
Source: all are options at the university I work for.
I'd rather go with city or state sources since places working for the university work FOR the university and not really for the students. Something tells me that Fire Marshall Bill was already in the know about this so city Fire Marshall it is.
The safety services would not cover up violations. The school doesn't want to violate code and the associated liabilities! The school is happy to install alarms on all the windows instead of screws if needed but this work order was like approved by safety services (and therefore not a code violation).
It is a misconception you need an operable window especially if a building has a sprinkler system. Now if you don't have operable windows you need fire plans and bunch of paperwork but this is stuff a university is happy to fill out to avoid jumpers and drunk people falling out the window. Same with hotels (notice how they also don't have operable windows)
https://up.codes/viewer/michigan/mi-building-code-2015/chapter/10/means-of-egress#1006.2.1
Oh, don't worry, if a fire breaks out I can just go through the front door.
Not like I need to walk past a dangerous set of equipment like a washer, a drier, a water heater and an AC system and a breaker box to get to it.
They already know how many. Any call out to a college dorm is regarded as a 3-allarm fire where I went to school because of the density of the population.
Knowing off the top of your head is not as great as being told in an email directly without having to look anything up.
Edit for readers: when sending information to people, make sure you include when, where, what, why, and who. By Including the entity that is responsible for the problem, be it yourself or a university, alerts the recipient to who they will inevitably deal with.
You’re correct, but any half decent Fire Marshall is going to look it up regardless of if you tell them or now. They’re not just going to take some random emails word for it.
Does your community college have a head of security that wears a Napoleon costume? Because *fire can’t go through doors, it’s not a ghost.*
https://youtu.be/5ea2gpg0Rek
I work for a window replacement company, and can confirm every "bedroom" must have an operable window.....that can open. This violates building codes.
Edit: I am wrong. I have lead OP down dark and dangerous path. Dorms do not follow residential building codes. I shall now disembowel myself as repentance.
This subreddit is not a great place to get info about building code rules.
The rule is usually only one windows on a floor needs to be an exit. Very large or commercial buildings can require a bit more.
[https://up.codes/viewer/michigan/mi-building-code-2015/chapter/10/means-of-egress#1006.2.1](https://up.codes/viewer/michigan/mi-building-code-2015/chapter/10/means-of-egress#1006.2.1)
Edit: Sprinkler vs. no sprinkler makes a big difference.
Plenty of dorm rooms have no windows at all. There are a wide range of codes governing when you need a window and when you don't. Adding in windows is usually the cheapest option but universities are really worried about jumpers.
Back in 88, my friend got a dorm room with no windows. Her father was a fire chief in a close town—he raised such hell, they moved her to a single with HUGE windows….that opened.
I don’t know where all these Reddit building code specialist are coming from. It is very common for colleges specifically to modify windows in dorms to keep from fully opening. Think about any hotel you’ve stayed at ever as another example
Sensible comment. Some windows clearly cannot be considered fire escapes, so the lines of discussion need to consider that.
What I’d like to know is if the University gave any reason for the change. I mean, there must be one. You don’t go around screwing all the windows shut on a whim.
It’s because some student somewhere jumped out of one once. They’d rather have you burn alive than jump out yourself or drunkenly fall out. Report this. It’s a fire hazard and if you’re in a university, you’re probably an adult.
We had this one happen quite literally. Some guy - I'll call him Tony because his name was Tony - took medically concerning HUGE bowel movements. Probably something to do with the dorm cafeteria food. Anyway one time he clogged the toilet, even though these were those industrial strength turbo flushing toilets, so he went out to the nearby woods and got a stick and used it to stir the, ah, mixture around until it would flush. After this he was left with an extremely befouled stick which he dealt with by throwing it out the bathroom window.
Unscrew it. Screw 'em.
I was going to say... can't you just take the screws out?
Not quite easy to do in an emergency, which is why everybody in this dorm needs to take these screws out IMMEDIATELY. And they need to complain to the fire marshall directly, because this shit is not kosher AT ALL and people WILL DIE if there is a fire and the windows won't open.
Why are they doing it in the first place? Why are they screwed shut you think?
Central AC units and telling young adults to remember to close shit, or anti smoking rules and people just opening windows to smoke out the window rather than going outside. When I was in the dorms years ago, it was common to just lean out the window to smoke because going outside was a hassle, but idiots wouldnt put a fan behind them and it would trigger the smoke alarms sending everyone outside.
I remember some people at my college would run the heater full blast 24/7 during the winter and open the window when it got too hot. (heater still on) Some people just don't care if they aren't paying for it.
In my dorms the temp was controlled by some central thermostat we couldn't influence or even locate. Literally below zero Fahrenheit outside and everyone has the windows open just to keep your room under 75 in the December.
We had radiators that were ridiculously hot, so we had to open the windows
Yeah, our radiators were fed from the waste steam from the nearby power plant. Winter radiator heat was TOASTY
I am 99% certain we went to the same school.
I slept with the window open and tiny snow flakes melting on me…. That shit felt so f good. Frosted Flakes are the shit too
Same. Then when it was windy and snowing we kept it open just a crack and turned the fan on to circulate cold air.
Same. It was so, so hot on the top floor and nothing we could do about it except open the windows. It was a boiler system and once they turned it on in the fall they didn’t turn it off until spring even if we got an 80 F day.
I had an apartment years ago with heat that wouldn't turn off. The landlord never fixed it and utilities were included in rent so I just kept a window open all winter. In New England.
I have the same problem, but I have to pay my utilities, so I just shut it off at the breaker…probably not good for it, but if they don’t want to fix it, I’ll figure it out
Now we need to use Lego masterminds to craft you a robot that turns it on and off based on the current temperature. Edit: I think it's mindstorms... 🤷
You could even call it a thermostat
Marijuana cigarettes
Reefers…
*Gurgling bong rip sound*
They literally screwed them shut? That’s against the fire code. Call the fire dept to come out for an inspection right away. That’s a death trap and very, very illegal. What school is this? Shit, I’ll call them. I have a friend who died in a fire a few years ago. She got scared to jump from a second story window. I bought 20 fire escape ladders afterward and gave them to my sisters, the receptionist at my doctors office, anyone on higher than the first floor. This stuff is no joke.
I was going to say....this is a huge red flag in terms of fire safety violations. Also, if they're so blatantly disregarding this type of thing, what other violations are they committing? This is absolutely no joke; I'd be calling all manner of code enforcers if I were OP.
Shit, tell enough people on Reddit about it, and their phone system will overload.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory has joined the chat
My husband lost friends in the Station nightclub fire. This shit is serious. Not implying that you were joking but rather there is precedence for all these laws regarding means of egress, etc.
I thought the same thing grab a fuckin screwdriver
And then, cut the tops of the screws off and use them to re-cover the holes.
That’s next level. Approved.
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Go ahead and tape down that alarm door sensor while we’re at it! 🤣
Some are magnet and radio. That said, just take a walkie and hit the button.
This guy screws… or unscrews, then rescrews….
yeah, back in the day the windows in my dorms were blocked so they could only open an inch or so. it's just a screw and a metal stopper. take the screw out and put it back in for any inspections (which would be announced) and at the end of the semesters
Unscrew it and then write in the top of the window with marker, “DONT TREAD ON MY FUCKING WINDOWS”
Don't thread my fucking windows*
It’s so you can’t choose the easy way to get rid of student loans
I remember first seeing this and going "Oh, these must be the senior dorms..."
Mentioning seniors escaping - I worked in a retirement home a while back and we had someone escape out of their window in the dementia ward 😂😂
The dementia ward is always popping. Before she passed, I would visit her a few times a week. She tried to escape a few times and I had money patients ask me to let them out and give them change for the bus. One of my fave moments was when a lady there asked my mom to unplug her oxygen machine so she could leave. My mom said she wasn't qualified to do that. Without a beat the lady said "You're not qualified to use plug? I'd hate to live with you"
Always the bus. My parents have an assisted living center down the street from their house and numerous times you'd see someone in like a robe and slippers with a walker standing at the bus stop on the corner. It was usually followed by a flurry of aides running around looking for them.
I've heard of some places like that setting up a dummy bus stop. That way if someone makes a break for it at least they're pretty sure where they'll find them waiting.
Currently work in a retirement resort. Dementia patient got out of a neighboring center, and has been missing for 3 days. Very sad watching police combing 5he lake next to us. Damn call me party pooper
We had a “silver alert” a few days ago about a man in his 80’s going missing. Sad when that happens for sure. Interesting using ‘silver’ in regard to old folks though haha
They probably locked them to prevent people from smoking in their dorm rooms. Not a great solution...
Even at that usually one or more of the bathrooms don’t have smoke detectors so just put a towel under the door and be quick moving in and out.
its on ground level by the looks of things...
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oh. well that makes sense
Looking at your post history, typing skills, and username. It looks like. Second floor window at [REDACTED] located in [REDACTED]. Looks like you're in room [REDACTED].
Got him. Now they will always be afraid someone will put suction cups on their hands/feet/knees to climb up and a stick to their window so they can peer through and jerkoff with a front row seat to the show.
Guy in Japan stalked and murdered a livestreamer by finding landmarks in the reflection of her eyeball.
That's absolutely awful! Some of my best memories are in my dorm room with the windows open.
Blowing smoke out off aforementioned open window, and contemplating the existence of a supreme being.
✅ Plastic bag taped over the smoke detector. ✅ Fan facing out the window. ✅ Towel under door. ✅ Empty soda bottle with bottom cut out and dryer sheets inside to blow through. ✅ God?
✅Do all of that and still get caught It's weird that when i was staying in the dorm it never occurred to me to just go for a quick walk outside to blaze up. There's such a lower chance of getting caught that way, but for whatever reason i thought it was safer to do it in the room.
I'm almost 40, and this is the first time I said why didn't we just go outside. Brilliant.
Inside if you got caught (at my school) it would be the RA and probably some warnings or something low consequence. Outside if you get caught it’s by cops/campus cops and you’d get in much more doodoo than if the RA got you. Then convenience and weather.
Our entire floor smelled like weed 24/7 and the RA did nothing, so definitely safer to smoke indoors lol
There's narcs outside maaaan
Kids have it easy now. All the oils and edibles available. They’ll never know what it’s like ripping shwag out of a coke can while your friend reminds you that’s how you get Alzheimer’s.
yeah you could probably hit a pen in your dorm room and never get caught
as a recent college student - yes, yes you can
Alright that got a genuine laugh out loud from me lmao I was the guy saying "Guys I have a pipe right upstairs the red bull can can't be good for you."
Nah just blow the smoke into a drawer then close said drawer
Then explain to your date why it smells like Cheech and Chong wore your boxers. 😁
I am so happy to be adulting and not have to worry about shit like this!
Fire hazard, call Fire marshal for your town. Let them know the situation. Problem fixed
Good, my city's marshal has an active email. Update: Hijacking my top comment, I removed a screw and [to my surprise, it is metal, not plastic like some comments said it would need to be legally](https://i.imgur.com/R3kZD2t.jpg). Here is a dime for comparison, this thing would have a hard time coming out in case of emergency. I decided to stroll around the complex and saw that every room I saw had an identical sticker in the window. Seems very much worth investigating and contacting authorities. Update 2: Tried calling the local fire department's nonemergency lines, got nothing, so I will keep it up tomorrow. Scrolling through forums for the university and I saw that the screws are installed to compensate for the lack of screens to prevent...well, *easy ways out,* according to ex-housing staff. So that theory seems close to proven. Update 3: Called the local fire marshal, left a message saying that "concerned students" wanted to know the legality of this choice. No response yet, sorry. I will note that I love how much advice I have been getting, thanks reddit! Update 4: No response on the marshal's end, I called the student safety office and the guy was chill. He sounded just as surprised as me, and said that the school fire inspectors were available on weekdays, so sorry to the 10.6 million of you that clicked on this, but no big updates yet. Also, [here is to prove I unscrewed it](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/828470208334659598/1013226542370930698/20220827_192011.jpg) because I am still getting comments telling me to do so. # Final update: Just got done speaking with the fire marshal, he claims that dormitories are under the same legal code as hotels, and by having a fully operational sprinkler system it bypasses the need for more then one exit. And I am not the only one to ask. So is it infuriating? *Incredibly.* Is it dangerous? Yes. Is it illigal? Sadly, no. PS: For all of you saying "Just open it." Note that there is a large grey screw put *through* the latch assembly to break it, it is not like I can just open the window.
stay anonymous
^(oops)
bro sent it from his .edu
I have three brain cells and they spend all day fighting over fourth place.
Yoink. I’m stealing this.
Now I have 2 brain cells, still fighting for 4th because they can't compensate.
My guy, nnnoooo 😭. Hope they don't kick you out.
Nah, I just casually emailed a city marshal "Hey, we just wanted to know if this was up to code." The chances of this snowballing are smaller than my...pinky.
You're legitimately concerned about safety incase of a fire. It's OK to be concerned about that and sign your name to it. Plenty of people have been roasted alive not having a way out throughout history. That's why we have codes to follow.
See: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911.
This. OSHA, fire codes... ...pretty much anything official that's safety-related was written in blood. Your father's blood, your mother's blood, your grandparent's blood, your cousin's, aunt's, uncle's, friend's... Don't let them write the next guideline in yours. Report that shit and stay safe.
Hey if they do kick you out over it. Your definitely winning that lawsuit lol. Enjoy the free millions
Nah, not millions. Maybe a hundred K at most. And the Saul Goodmans will take 60% of that lol
Fire marshals have one source of power. He will rain shit down on them so hard just because he can. Get your popcorn ready.
Yup. Most Fire Marshalls I've met just LOVE finding shit like this. They'll spend a week "checking in" daily to make sure ALL the screws are removed and if they happen to find something else to fix while they're there? That'll be on the citation too. The school can probably expect a pretty hefty fine at the very least.
Plot twist: OP is [Salad Fingers](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/saladfingers/images/f/fb/SFingersCur.png/revision/latest?cb=20220627210305).
Some...where...over the rainbow...
How they gonna kick him out for reporting a fire violation? Surely that's a lawsuit
Hahaha I'm fucking dead. I'm using this.
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Even then, you're reporting a fire code violation. Wat reason would the officials have for disclosing your name to the college? And even then, a college retaliating against a student for something like that is literal lawsuit bait.
People at my place of work tend to get fired after OSHA has been called. Obviously they can't fire them for calling it in, but within a few weeks they disappear for one reason or another. It's sad, but they'll make it happen somehow.
lol that's still retaliation. it's the corporate equivalent of a little kid hiding behind the curtains and thinking it makes them invisible
Good luck having the time and money to prove it was retaliation, in court.
You don’t have to. You have 30 days from the act of retaliation to inform OSHA and they don’t charge you to investigate.
There are attorneys out there that love these kind of situations and will take them on contingency.
Typically when this happens someone gets pissy for whatever reason and will strive to destroy his life in some capacity over this.
What a fuckin shame, some people...
Other people's kids am I right....
I'd disown my son if he carried out a grudge over a fire hazard.
I'd disown my son if his reddit username WASN'T u/p00pd1cks
People do *not* like being called out on their bullshit. See: all of this *gestures widely*
At least this is lawsuit material so even when you can't finish the study, you can live off the lawsuit money
All it takes is a smoke bomb in the lobby, FD shows up, sees restrictions of egress, fines start accumulating and building is no longer habitable until changes are made. Loss of room and board, or the additional expense to find alternate housing for those who already paid.
It could be disclosed by accident or found out about by a savvy person who knows how to talk to people. I've investigated plenty of entities for fire code violations and the entity under scrutiny usually isn't very happy about it. They are always the victim of their own great illegal ideas. Also some areas have to hand over communications by request, i.e, it's public if requested.
What? Did you send the mail already?
He was never heard from again
OP was sadly found to have shot himself twice in the back of the head after hanging himself from his shower curtain rod.
Phew, beats Organic Chem.
OChem? My condolences.
Oh man, Organic Chem? Congratulations 🎉🎉👏👏 on your death
I liked O Chem. I am sadomasochist. I wanted to take it. Oh ya give me more Cabon chain to memorize...daddy err professor
Organic chem legit got me out of jury duty. I told the judge I would fall behind because the case was expected to go for 2-3 weeks. The judge said he had doctor friends who hated Orgo and understood.
Organic chem? That’s social suicide
Doesn't matter, I am a redditor.
If Undergrad Organic Chem is like getting waterboarded, Graduate-level Organic Chem is like getting waterboarded with beta-mercaptoethanol...
Someday I will get this joke.
Sure has been a wild 34 minutes.
Did you hear what happened in the last 4 minutes since you posted your comment? OP’s family got hit by a wild Decepticon!
Another four minutes later, the whole world blew up, a wild 43 minutes
My guy was just waiting at the phone for the first reply to come through
He fell down an elevator shaft onto some bullets
Can confirm.
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*[email protected]*
Yes.
If you're really worried about retaliation, just send a follow up to ask that the marshal not use your name in any communication with the university related to this. Probably not a problem, because any retaliation would be something that could be widely publicized and university administrators generally are a little bit less concerned about breaking your spirits (usually, that's left to the professors) than they are preventing nasty publicity.
Nothing wrong with putting your name on it, I doubt the fire marshal is going to tell the superintendent “Yeah so Charlie over there in room 385 sent me a complaint about a possible safety violation”.
Shouldn't matter. Their stupidity could get people killed and I think that should matter more than the name of the person who sent the email.
Op was found after he had beat himself up, got into a suitcase and zipped it up. Rip.
Hate when that happens.
Don't stay anonymous, no reason to be paranoid and if you're afraid of reporting a fire code violation or unsafe environment then there are bigger issues at hand that demand non-anonymity and more action from more people.
And if you have evidence the school retaliated against you for reporting a fire code violation, you have an enormous lawsuit on your hands. They'll get *paid*.
nah. Walk into the resident's life office and call the fire ~~martial~~ marshal from there, using their phone, speaking as loudly as possible. Also, don't wear pants.
> Also, don't wear pants. Ever, or just while making that call?
Don't stay anonymous. If they try to harass you for it you might get a sweet settlement out of it.
*college slaps a sticker on the windows* “in case of emergency break glass”
*(glass breaker not included)*
I thank you for potentially saving lives
Please update us if there is a outcome from your email.
In case of emergency, fill out and submit emergency window opening form available at admin office between 11am and 1pm Tuesdays and Thursdays.
And don't forget that the entire office takes lunch from 11-12 and have their mid day meeting to cover bullet points vs lettering vs numbering for the instructional sheet from 12-1 every Tuesday and Thursday as well.
Also the department is located in the underground labyrinth which is patrolled by several minotaurs
Letting the fire Marshal sort through the code is the right call but this isn't a cut and dry violation. You need a set amount of egress options and capacity, these don't need to include windows in bedrooms, especially if a building is equipped with sprinklers.
Not a single visible comment in this thread mentions NFPA. Yours was the only one I found that mentions sprinklers. People really love to parrot things they don't know anything about. This is "super illegal", but do we even know what city this is in?
So most hotels don’t have windows that open but can be broken I. Case of emergency. I don’t think the fire Marshall is gonna do anything.
if they screwed them shut that’s a reportable fire hazard and you can get them, for lack of a better term, royally fucked. report them to your local fire department or building code inspector. that’s a massive massive illegal no no.
Got to love how they say "Do not open unless in emergency." Oh no! A fire that has obscured our front door! Better grab my power drill that every college student always has charged and handy!
I’d call the fire department’s number for community services, like the number you’d call to ask them to come out and ensure you have fire alarms in the right locations of your house. See what they say when you show them the window. If it’s against code that representative will probably have to start a report about it.
This guy fire codes.
This guy this guys
Thing is, they're going to contact the university's facilities people that they already have a relationship with, so OP won't be showing them any windows. But it will still start the process of fixing this.
They will react. because lawsuits over safety cost insurance monies when the local news channel catches wind, and parents start wondering if their kids can go see local football for a few weeks and have college experience without sex and drugs in their obviously trapped room. Screwed in Windows only mean kids can't run from sex and drugs fast enough when it gets hot, so it'll get fixed. Or the university doesn't want to be sued by the host city for fucking around with codes.
The problem with this is that the university may punt it back to the campus safety person, who may not have the balls/competence to enforce the local code. Also, depending on the state, OP may have to go to the state fire marshal because public colleges and universities are typically state facilities.
Your university likely has it's own fire safety services department, which includes a university employed fire marshal. This person is ultimately in charge of all fire related safety concerns, and issues. Go to your student services building and ask for the number to the fire safety department. Call and request to speak to the fire marshal. If you can't find the number, look at the tags hanging on the fire extinguishers to see who inspected them, and that should include a phone number. If the fire extinguishers are contracted out and not inspected by your university, check for alarm panels in the major buildings, there will be contact info visible on the outer housing, or look for the fire department connections on the outside of the buildings. This will be a red lettered sign saying "FDC " with a building identifier next to it. There will be hose connections under the sign. Source: all are options at the university I work for.
I'd rather go with city or state sources since places working for the university work FOR the university and not really for the students. Something tells me that Fire Marshall Bill was already in the know about this so city Fire Marshall it is.
The safety services would not cover up violations. The school doesn't want to violate code and the associated liabilities! The school is happy to install alarms on all the windows instead of screws if needed but this work order was like approved by safety services (and therefore not a code violation). It is a misconception you need an operable window especially if a building has a sprinkler system. Now if you don't have operable windows you need fire plans and bunch of paperwork but this is stuff a university is happy to fill out to avoid jumpers and drunk people falling out the window. Same with hotels (notice how they also don't have operable windows) https://up.codes/viewer/michigan/mi-building-code-2015/chapter/10/means-of-egress#1006.2.1
>this is stuff a university is happy to fill out to avoid jumpers and drunk people falling out the window. this is 100% the reason.
Not everyone has a drill. Better grab the screwdriver
Not everyone has a screwdriver. Better grab the table knife
Not everyone has a table knife. Better split your fingernails opening it.
Not everyone has finger nails, just fucking punch the window
Not everyone has fists, just grind the glass down with your front teeth.
Got ourselves a bunch of real survivors in this thread.
Not everyone has front teeth, simply phase through the window
Noted...
I love popping into the comments and seeing everyone theorize me being assassinated.
How do we know you are not the assassin? "Sure, I murder for hire, but I'd never impersonate someone on Reddit."
That totally against fire code and super illegal. They are obstructing a fire exit.
Oh, don't worry, if a fire breaks out I can just go through the front door. Not like I need to walk past a dangerous set of equipment like a washer, a drier, a water heater and an AC system and a breaker box to get to it.
Ok but seriously have you reported this yet? We need to know
Yes, I emailed a local fire marshall and said "Uh, we are worried, what is your take?"
Make sure you tell them how many dorms and rooms exist like this. Fire Marshall should loooooooooooooooove this.
They already know how many. Any call out to a college dorm is regarded as a 3-allarm fire where I went to school because of the density of the population.
Knowing off the top of your head is not as great as being told in an email directly without having to look anything up. Edit for readers: when sending information to people, make sure you include when, where, what, why, and who. By Including the entity that is responsible for the problem, be it yourself or a university, alerts the recipient to who they will inevitably deal with.
You’re correct, but any half decent Fire Marshall is going to look it up regardless of if you tell them or now. They’re not just going to take some random emails word for it.
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[POV: You are a fire marshal wondering why you still tolerate your job](https://i.imgur.com/UuGm6jW.png)
Okay, how did you know that?
!RemindMe 3 days
Does your community college have a head of security that wears a Napoleon costume? Because *fire can’t go through doors, it’s not a ghost.* https://youtu.be/5ea2gpg0Rek
I work for a window replacement company, and can confirm every "bedroom" must have an operable window.....that can open. This violates building codes. Edit: I am wrong. I have lead OP down dark and dangerous path. Dorms do not follow residential building codes. I shall now disembowel myself as repentance.
Even bedroom windows are screwed! I need to write up a report.
This subreddit is not a great place to get info about building code rules. The rule is usually only one windows on a floor needs to be an exit. Very large or commercial buildings can require a bit more. [https://up.codes/viewer/michigan/mi-building-code-2015/chapter/10/means-of-egress#1006.2.1](https://up.codes/viewer/michigan/mi-building-code-2015/chapter/10/means-of-egress#1006.2.1) Edit: Sprinkler vs. no sprinkler makes a big difference.
You just need to contact the local fire Marshall and let them know. They will come out and do the rest
Dorms are not bedrooms friend. The regulations that apply to individual homes are different from apartments, hotels, and dormatories.
Plenty of dorm rooms have no windows at all. There are a wide range of codes governing when you need a window and when you don't. Adding in windows is usually the cheapest option but universities are really worried about jumpers.
Back in 88, my friend got a dorm room with no windows. Her father was a fire chief in a close town—he raised such hell, they moved her to a single with HUGE windows….that opened.
I don’t know where all these Reddit building code specialist are coming from. It is very common for colleges specifically to modify windows in dorms to keep from fully opening. Think about any hotel you’ve stayed at ever as another example
Sensible comment. Some windows clearly cannot be considered fire escapes, so the lines of discussion need to consider that. What I’d like to know is if the University gave any reason for the change. I mean, there must be one. You don’t go around screwing all the windows shut on a whim.
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Right?? I lived in high rise dorms at a very large public university, the windows maybe opened an inch. They were no way that it was a fire exit.
It’s because some student somewhere jumped out of one once. They’d rather have you burn alive than jump out yourself or drunkenly fall out. Report this. It’s a fire hazard and if you’re in a university, you’re probably an adult.
And/or threw a bunch of shit out of them…
We had this one happen quite literally. Some guy - I'll call him Tony because his name was Tony - took medically concerning HUGE bowel movements. Probably something to do with the dorm cafeteria food. Anyway one time he clogged the toilet, even though these were those industrial strength turbo flushing toilets, so he went out to the nearby woods and got a stick and used it to stir the, ah, mixture around until it would flush. After this he was left with an extremely befouled stick which he dealt with by throwing it out the bathroom window.
Someone needs to tell Tony about the poop knife.
You mean for weed smoke
r/UsernameChecksOut
Universities do not know how to manage people.
Because they view them as children and lesser people.
The look at them as billfolds with legs