2024 Campus Housing Fire Safety Report

In compliance with The Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know Act, included as part of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Opportunity Act, the following is Sonoma State University’s Campus Housing Fire Safety Report for the 2023 calendar year.  PDF version of the 2023 Campus Housing Fire Safety Report available here.

Mandatory Supervised Fire Drills

During this reporting period there were two mandatory supervised fire drills involving the campus housing community. The drills were conducted on January 27, 2023 and August 25, 2023.

Reportable Statistics - Summary for 2021-2023 Calendar Years

Three fire incidents in calendar year 2021

Three fire incidents in calendar year 2022

Two fire incidents in calendar year 2023

Fire Summary for 2021

Fire Summary for 2022  

Fire Summary for 2023

Note: The fire incident log is maintained by Residential Education and Campus Housing and is available for public review during normal business hours at the Sonoma State Residential Education and Campus Housing office located in the Student Center, Student Affairs Suite, 1801 E Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park, California.

Policies on Portable Appliances, Open Flames, Smoking, and Other Relevant to Fire Safety

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• Portable Appliances - In order to maintain a safe environment within the Residential Community, refrigerators 3 cubic feet or smaller, microwaves, and coffee pots are the only kitchen appliances allowed in residential suites. All other exposed coils and other electrical cooking appliances are prohibited including hot plates, rice makers, panini presses, small grills, pressure or slow cookers, etc. Space heaters, 3-D printers, portable air conditioners, clothes washers and dryers, Halogen lamps, and additional full size refrigerators are prohibited. All other electrical equipment must be UL approved and in safe operating condition. CSU Chancellor’s Office Executive Order 785, Provision Nine – Operations & Maintenance – prohibits the use of space heaters in campus buildings including the Residential Community.
• Open Flames - Open flames are prohibited in the Residential Community to include, but not limited to, lit candles, incense, laboratory burners, and torches. Cooking is prohibited in any residential space other than a kitchen. Flammable or dangerous materials such as lighter fluid, gasoline, solvents, and caustic chemicals other than household cleaning agents are also prohibited. Only charcoal grills with lids and legs are allowed in the Residential Community. Gas grills of any kind are prohibited. Charcoal lighter fluid is prohibited; pre-soaked briquettes or a chimney style paper charcoal lighter should be used. Grills may only be used outside and at least 10 feet away from building walls. Grills may not be used on balconies or in corridors. Briquettes and ashes must be completely cold before being properly disposed of in a dumpster, and may not be thrown on the lawns or any other grounds locations.
• Smoking - Sonoma State University is a smoke and tobacco free campus. The smoking policy defines “smoking” as lighting, burning, carrying, inhaling, exhaling, or holding a lit cigarette, cigar, bidi, pipe, or other smoking or recreational vapor delivery apparatus containing tobacco or another substance. To view the full smoking and tobacco use policy, please visit the Smoking and Tobacco Free Policy.
• Residents are expected to be responsible regarding fire safety and the prevention of harm to the community. Residents and guests must follow procedures and immediately evacuate a building upon the sound of an alarm. Fire safety violations may be subject to local, state, and federal laws. Violations of the Fire Safety REACH Regulations include, but are not limited to:
• Starting, or attempting to start, fires or creating a high risk fire situation.
• Jeopardizing the ability of University or local officials to respond to a fire situation; or the ability for individuals to evacuate a building. 
• Activating a false alarm.
• Misusing, tampering with, disabling, covering, or removing any fire safety devices including: fire extinguishers, exit signs, smoke detectors, and door self-closing mechanisms.
• Possession of laboratory burners, butane torches, tiki torches, or other similar items.
• Having any open flame in the Residential Community, including lit candles or incense. Residents may possess decorative candles, as long as the wick remains whole and unburnt.
• Cooking in any residential space other than a kitchen. 
• Possession of flammable or dangerous materials such as lighter fluid, gasoline, solvents, and caustic chemicals other than household cleaning agents. 
• Possession of, discharging or attempting to discharge firecrackers or fireworks of any kind within or adjacent to the Residential Community.
• Failure to follow evacuation instructions and procedures. Residents should evacuate promptly upon becoming aware of a fire alarm in the building. If the alarm has ceased sounding, it does not mean the building is cleared for re-entry; wait for instruction from REACH staff and/or authorized personnel. 

Please be advised that local emergency agencies, when responding to fires, medical assists, and other emergency situations in the Residential Community can legally charge the responsible student(s) reimbursement fees or fines. 

Evacuation and Fire Safety Education and Training Programs

Upon assuming occupancy in the fall semester, all campus residents receive a move-in written publication which includes “What To Do in Case of an Emergency”. This emergency information includes what to do in case of fire: i.e., how and where to evacuate, contacting authorities, and activating fire alarms. There is also a permanent emergency information decal mounted on the inside of every living unit’s entry door stating how to report an emergency and what to do in case of fire. This decal also includes the 24 hour emergency information hotline maintained by the university.  In addition, Area Coordinators host a mandatory residential community meeting at the start of every semester where they welcome students, provide evacuation, fire safety, and general policy information as a means to provide a safe living environment for all students. Emergency preparedness and evacuation information are also maintained and available online.

Campus Housing Facilities

Sonoma State University has six on-campus student housing villages with the following building, unit, and occupancy capacity counts.

Fire Safety Systems

The following is a description of the fire safety systems in the respective villages:

Fire Alarm Systems

All villages are equipped with a Honeywell Notifier Fire Alarm Panel which signals to Pyro COmms (Fire Alarm monitoring vendor) 24/7 Central Monitoring Station. There are multiple fire/smoke detectors in the interior of each unit per the National Fire Protection Association - NFPA - 72 and maintained per California Code of Regulations Title -19 Section 1.14. Upon an alarm Activation, each fire/smoke detector signals directly to Pyro Comm's Central Monitoring Station via dual pathways (internet and/or Cell signal) and is reported to Cotati Police Dispatch for emergency response. All Alerts are monitored by an Onyxworks workstation, a single-point-of-control workstation for centralized life safety management, located at the Central Plant. Alarms/Alerts do not signal the local Fire Department - Rancho Adobe Fire Protection District, Rancho Adobe Station No. 1, (707) 795-5455. Each individual heat/smoke device and pull station is tested and serviced annually. All of the campus housing buildings are equipped with manual pull stations in various exterior locations tied into a notification alarm circuit consisting of horns and strobes, per the National Fire Protection Association - NFPA - 72 and maintained per California Code of Regulations Title -19 Section 1.14, with one exception. Audible horns equipped with strobe lights are installed in selected suites designed to house hearing impaired students, and are installed in accordance with National Fire Protection Association - NFPA-72. In the Merlot building, which is part of the Cabernet Village, (three story building with interior exit passageways) manual pull stations - audible horn/strobe fire alarm system are located on the interior exit passageways, per the National Fire Protection Association - NFPA - 72 and maintained per California Code of Regulations Title -19 Section 1.14.

Fire Panels

All villages have fire alarm panels and subpanels with emergency back-up power, via dry cell battery designed to last for a 24-hour plus 5 minute period in the event of a power outage, per the National Fire Protection Association - NFPA - 72 and maintained per California Code of Regulations Title -19 Section 1.14. 

Fire Extinguishers

All villages are equipped with fire extinguisher cabinets - located on the exterior of each building, (MP Series - Multi-Purpose Dry Chemical Class ABC Fire - Fire Extinguishers).  In addition Beaujolais Village, Cabernet Village, Sauvignon Village and Tuscany Village (the “apartment villages”) provide MP Series - Multi-Purpose Dry Chemical Class ABC Fire - Fire Extinguishers in the interior of each unit in the kitchen area, per NFPA - 72 and maintained per California Code of Regulations Title -19 Section 1.14. 

Fire Sprinkler Systems

Beaujolais, Tuscany and Zinfandel Villages are equipped with a fully functioning and certified fire sprinkler system; each building and unit in Beaujolais Village and Tuscany Village has fire sprinkler coverage, per the National Fire Protection Association - NFPA - 13 and maintained per California Code of Regulations Title -19.   The Zinfandel Village has limited fire sprinkler coverage in buildings and units.  Zinfandel Village is maintained per California Code of Regulations Title -19.  Cabernet Village, Sauvignon Village and Verdot Village are not equipped with a fire sprinkler system, none of the buildings and/or units have fire sprinkler coverage. The Barbera and Traminer buildings in the Zinfandel Village are each equipped on the exterior with a Standpipe System Fire Type - II hose cabinet, with a 100 foot hose length.

Emergency Blue Light Phones

All villages are provided with an emergency blue phone to directly call 911 Emergency, Police and Safety Services 24 - hours, 7 days per week.

Carbon Monoxide Devices

Carbon monoxide devices are installed in apartments with gas units.

Inspections

The Office of the State Fire Marshal, (Deputy State Fire Marshal) inspects, tests and certifies annually the fire safety systems in each of the campus housing villages to confirm the systems are fully functioning and maintained, per the California Code of Regulations Title -19 Section 1.14. 

Future Improvements and Continued Efforts with Fire Safety

In 2019 Residential Education and Campus Housing (REACH), in conjunction with the Disability Services for Students Office, developed an evacuation plan for students with disabilities. Monetary and student conduct sanctions are assessed to the residents if a smoke detector is discovered to be tampered with in a bedroom or common area.  Emailed notifications reminding students about the policies surrounding smoke detectors and fire safety.

Reporting Procedures

Once a fire has been extinguished, the incident should be reported to the Director of Residential Education and Campus Housing at 707-664-2541 or by email at housing@sonoma.edu.

Jeanne Clery Act Annual Report

The Sonoma State University Jeanne Clery Act Annual Report is located on the Clery Act website, overseen by Risk Management & Safety Services.

Fire Log

The fire incident log is maintained by Residential Education and Campus Housing and is available for public review during normal business hours at the Sonoma State Residential Education and Campus Housing office located in the Student Center, Student Affairs Suite, 1801 E Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park, California.