:: Environmental Health & Safety Office

Emergency Evacuation from UMass/Boston Campus Buildings

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The primary fire and life safety purpose of the corridors and stairwells within the campus buildings is to provide continuous and unobstructed emergency exit pathways for all occupants within all areas of the buildings. Fire and life safety regulations and codes prohibit storage in campus buildings’ ‘means of egress’ (corridors and stairwells).  These ‘emergency exit pathways’ must be maintained continuous and unobstructed at all times in compliance with state standards and regulations and national codes.  Chief among them are:

  • 780 CMR: Massachusetts Board of Building Regulations and Standards
  • 527 CMR: Massachusetts Board of Fire Prevention Regulations
  • National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA) Life Safety Code 101, 2000 Edition

 

Action Guidelines to Maintain Safe Corridor Exit Pathways

  • It is no longer necessary to place educational and departmental materials on tables and bookcases in corridors.  Literature display racks are available for wall mounting in close proximity to previously stored literature.  Contact Karen Deady, 7-5445, to initiate selection and installation arrangements.
  • It is no longer necessary to place academic books, intended for free distribution to students, in corridors.  A location on the third floor of the library, adjacent to the reserve desk, has been set aside for these books.  Contact John Carlow, 7-5909, to make arrangements to display the books in the library.  All incoming books will be considered for addition to the library’s permanent collection.
  • Do not discard items that can be recycled.  Call Recycling Manager, Aditi Pain, at 7-5083 or E-mail at umbegreen@umb.edu for information and assistance.
  • Do not dispose of obsolete or broken equipment or furniture by simply moving them out to the corridor, expecting that cleaning or facilities staff will take them away.  Many of these items must be processed through the state surplus system by the university’s property management department. Call the Customer Service Center at 7-4000 to initiate the process.
  • Do not move boxes of trash into the corridor without clearly labeling them as “TRASH”.  It is not always clear what is trash and what is not.
  • Do not block open corridor and stairwell fire doors. These doors serve as smoke and fire barriers.

Note:  This fact sheet is available at the EH&S Office website                www.umb.edu/ehs

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