It is a national issue: Each year, there are an estimated 150 fires in fraternity or sorority houses, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. When a fatal fraternity house fire at the nearby University of Mississippi took the lives of three students on Aug. 27, questions about fire safety at University of Memphis fraternity houses arose. Did they react to the incident?
For Parice Tyler, The University's Greek Affairs advisor, the safety of the fraternity and sorority members is a major concern.
"Once a month, we will go around with alumni members as well as people from the administrative staff and do house inspections," Tyler said.
Efforts are being made to prevent a tragedy like that at Ole Miss, where fire broke out in the basement of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house.
According to fire officials, inspectors from the Memphis Fire Prevention Bureau make sure that fire alarms and smoke detectors are working to help avoid fire hazards.
Still, standards at the fraternity houses are quite different. The Sigma Chi chapter of The University of Memphis has just opened its new building: state-of-the-art in fire safety.
"My parents were a little bit worried about me moving in," said Chris Hawk, junior Sigma Chi fraternity member. "But then when they came over and saw the house and everything, they were really impressed."
The Sigma Chi fraternity house has burned twice, the last time in November 2002. High-tech fire alarm systems and control panels dominate the appearance of the new building. In the hallway, wooden panels show the names of graduated members, darkened by smoke from the last fire.
Chris Hawk pointed to some microwave ovens and a refrigerator in a corner of the community room.
"One of the funny things is that this is our whole kitchen," he said. "They didn't even give us an oven, so that we couldn't even potentially burn down the house or anything."
Each bedroom has solid doors, a smoke detector and a fire alarm. Candles, cigarettes and space heaters are prohibited inside the building.
Cigarettes and candles are not allowed in the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house either, yet the 40-year-old building displays various fire hazards: The living room table disappears under a pile of pizza boxes, trash and scraps of paper lie all over the carpet. A power outlet hangs loose from a wall where blue paint is already peeling. There is no smoke detector in the community room.
But the fraternity did take additional precautions after the incident at Ole Miss. "We went over the fire plan at a meeting and made sure that everybody knew what to do in case of a fire. And I'm pretty sure we got a couple more fire extinguishers," said Jacob Spegal, sophomore fraternity member since last spring.
He said he felt safe living in the building.
Fraternity houses are privately owned and, therefore, the fraternities have to set their own regulations.
"It is unfortunate what has happened, but some things you just can't prevent, you have no control over them," Tyler said. "But here at The University of Memphis we do the best we can to provide safety for our students."
