CLASSE Safety Handbook

Fire Safety

Fire Alarm Procedures

General

Report any fire immediately by pulling the nearest alarm; do not assume someone else will do so. When a fire alarm is activated a building-wide alarm sounds automatically; there will be an ear-piercing audio alarm and flashing light at the location of the fire alarm stations. If the alarm sounds, you must leave the building through the nearest exit, closing room doors and windows as you leave. Equipment should be left in a stable, preferably powered-down state. Personal protective equipment should be removed and left at the worksite. You should also take any nearby personal effects like coats and keys with you because the building could be closed for an extended period of time. Never use an elevator when a fire alarm is sounding; take the stairs instead. No matter how important your project, failing to leave the building during a fire alarm is dangerous for both you and rescue personnel who must enter the building to locate you. Routes to exits are clearly marked with overhead "Exit" signs and there is an Emergency Evacuation Map on the back of many office doors in Wilson and Newman Labs. Familiarize yourself with your exit route now, before there is an emergency.

Please be aware that, in accordance with New York State law, there is no smoking permitted inside Cornell buildings, or within 25 feet of any entrance to a Cornell University building. (Full text of Cornell smoking policy)

Common fire inspection violations

At least once annually all Cornell buildings are inspected for fire safety by the State of New York. Violations trigger a required second inspection to ensure that the problems have been mitigated. At CLASSE we try to avoid such problems from the start. The most common violations tend to be

• Fire doors propped open (operationally, a "fire door" is any door with a "fire door" label on the narrow vertical hinge-side edge)
• In general, please try to get in the habit of closing doors to spaces you are leaving for more than a few minutes, especially at the end of a day
• Use of extension cords for permanent installations
• Plugging a power strip into another power strip
• Failure to leave 36" clearance in front of electrical panels such as breaker boxes
• Failure to leave 18" clearance for any sprinkler head
• Failure to leave 36" clear passageways for exit from any space
• Poor housekeeping, such as cords posing trip hazards
• Flammable materials stored on a shelf near the ceiling

See the Fire Preparedness, Prevention, & Precautions section below for more tips.

Wilson Laboratory

In Wilson, the fire horn is intermittent: it will sound VERY LOUDLY, but pause for several seconds before sounding again. You will probably hear announcements to leave the building during these pauses. Once you hear the alarm, you must exit the building until an explicit announcement that it is safe to return.

Due to the complex nature of the infrastructure at Wilson Lab, certain designated staff members are assigned to remain in the building to assist EH&S in the investigation of any fire alarm. The designated staff members are the On-Duty CESR Operator, Operations Managers and Fire Marshal.

Tunnel

The unique hazards of the CESR tunnel require that it have its own fire safety procedures and precautions. The tunnel has both regular and beam phones. Crash cords and crash buttons, if activated, shut down most of the major accelerator systems in the tunnel which use 440 volts. The vacuum system ion pump power supplies, however, are not connected to the crash system, and instead must be shut off manually by using the on/off buttons or unplugging them. Since the crash system shuts down almost all accelerator systems, it is to be activated only in the event of an emergency involving a fire or an electrical injury. If a fire alarm sounds, leave the tunnel immediately. Exit through either the north exit, which is located by Tower Road, or through the south L0E exit through L0. Never take the cross tunnel, because it could become filled with smoke during a fire.

End of Fire Safety