Mansfield fire prompts smoking ban
Mansfield JCR cordoned off after the blaze
MANSFIELD COLLEGE'S governing body have imposed a complete smoking ban in all college buildings after fire investigators suggested last month's JCR fire may have been started by a cigarette. The decision was taken at a meeting of governors on Wednesday 9th February and was met with general support when put to the JCR at a meeting last Sunday. Discussions are currently taking place between students and staff to negotiate the most practical way of implementing the decision.
Suggestions have been invited regarding the possibility of limited smoking within safe parameters. The official decision will be announced at the governing body meeting in 7th week. The cause of the fire, which caused extensive damage to Mansfield JCR early on Friday 21st January, has not yet been conclusively determined, but the Fire Service believes a lit cigarette to be the most likely cause.
The college Bursar, Stephen Waterman told The Oxford Student: “An electrical problem with the TV cannot be entirely discounted but cannot be investigated further because the TV was entirely burnt out.” The move to prohibit smoking indoors follows the Fire Safety Officer's conclusion that the fire could have been detected in its early stages, had the JCR been fitted with smoke detectors. At the time of the incident, the devices in place were only heat sensitive.
The installation of smoke detectors is only viable in areas which are non-smoking. Eight smoke detectors were immediately fitted in the JCR on the day following the fire and similar replacements are planned throughout the college. If implemented, the policy will necessitate a simultaneous ban on smoking in all rooms fitted with the detectors.
David Haycock, Community Fire Safety Manager for Oxfordshire Fire Department, told The Oxford Student that whilst less effective, it is still common practice to fit communal rooms with heat sensors rather than smoke detectors. "Smoke detectors tend to cause a lot of false alarms and we find that people are then less likely to respond when there's a real fire," he said.
Smoke detectors are already fitted in all college corridors as the law stipulates a minimum number must be installed to protect the means of escape. Though consulted, the JCR were not given voting rights on the matter. This comes in contrast to the recent motions to ban or restrict smoking in other colleges where the issue has been hotly debated.
17th Feb 2005