Last year's fire in Phi Kappa Psi fraternity has kindled a spirit for safety among the University's fraternities and sororities.
All 48 University fraternities and sororities with houses were inspected this summer by a combination of Charlottesville and University fire safety officials. Houses that failed to meet the standard will be re-inspected this fall.
The University has worked with the city and county to inspect the fraternities and sororities, said Ralph Allen, director of environmental health and safety for the University.
Though fraternities and sororities have long undergone walk-through fire safety checks, the follow-up efforts are a change from the norm. "The re-inspection is something new to them," Charlottesville Fire Marshal Brian Powell said.
Most fraternities and sororities will need to undergo these second inspections, which are scheduled for the week of Sept. 10.
"There are only a few that didn't have any violations," Powell said.
Powell did note a disparity between fraternities and sororities in his safety inspections: "The sororities were usually the ones that had the fewest violations."
Phi Kappa Psi in particular made efforts over the summer to prevent future fires. Kyle Farmer, the fraternity's vice president, said the entire house was rewired and new fire extinguishers and fire detectors were installed.
The blaze occurred at Phi Kappa Psi last October when too many cords were plugged into an electrical panel. The fire caused only minor damages.
The process cost tens of thousands of dollars but resulted in the house being compliant with all fire safety laws, Farmer said. The money for the renovations came out of private house funds.
While some houses had violations that needed to be corrected, "from what I could tell the inspectors were very pleased," said Aaron Laushway, assistant dean of students for the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life.
Allen agreed that, in general, houses are well equipped to deal with the possibility of a fire.
"Most of the fraternities have a combination of alarms and sprinklers," he said.
National statistics show that fraternities are more likely to experience fires than average residences or college dorms, Allen said. He cited "construction, lack of maintenance and behavior issues," as potential causes of fires in fraternities.
Inter-Fraternity Council President Josh Johnson disagreed that fraternities have more fire hazards and are at higher risk of fires.
"There are freak accidents even in the newest of houses," he said.
Though the Phi Kappa Psi fire may have prompted new efforts to prevent fires, the subject is not new, Johnson said. "Fire safety is a very important issue that should be addressed every year," he said.
Phi Kappa Psi plans to evaluate its fire safety efforts more often in the future. The fraternity hopes to make inspections at least twice a year, Farmer said.
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