Fire Safety Oversight
While fire safety is the responsibility of each of us as members of the campus community, the oversight of fire prevention rests with the Office of Risk Management. The safety coordinator working through the Office of Risk Management provides consistent monitoring and compliance enforcement of all applicable fire and safety laws, codes, best work practices and standards in all campus facilities and on the campus grounds. The Safety Coordinator is a liaison with other departments, outside agencies of public safety, and the University community and is responsible for compliance and reporting of the Annual Fire Safety Report. The Safety Coordinator ensures that all constituencies have been properly informed as to correct safety measures and reporting procedures and maintains Fire Safety Plans. The Safety Coordinator tracks pending Fire Safety oriented state and federal legislation and prepares, schedules, and conducts compliance awareness sessions for appropriate senior campus officials on matters pertaining to fire safety and schedules, coordinates and conducts
Reporting of Fires
All fire-related incidents should be reported to the James Madison University Police Department Communications Division for response and documentation. The communication unit is maintained 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is responsible for monitoring all fire alarms. Fire alarm panels monitoring all residence halls are located in the communication center. If a fire occurs in any building, community members should immediately notify the JMU Police Communication Center by dialing -6911 from any on-campus telephone or (540-568-6911) from any cell phone or off-campus telephone. Upon receipt of a need for a response, a call for service entry is initiated into the computer aided dispatch system providing direct access to Harrisonburg/Rockingham Emergency Services for local fire and rescue services to summon a response.
If a member of the JMU community finds evidence of a fire that has been extinguished, the community member should immediately notify JMU Police Department Communications to document the incident and begin the process of investigation.
Fire Log
The JMU Police Department working in coordination the Safety Coordinator in the Office of Risk Management maintains the James Madison University Daily Fire Log and posts specific incidents within two (2) business days of receiving a report of an incident and reserves the right to exclude reports from a log in certain circumstances as permitted by law. The Fire Log is kept electronically and can be found
James Madison University Fire Log | ||||||
On Campus Residence Halls | Numbers of Fires | Date/Time of Fire | Cause of Fire | Number of Deaths | Number of Injuries | Value of Property Damaged |
Dingledine Hall | 1 | 4/3/2009 03:35 | Smoking material in trash | 0 | 0 | $0.00 |
Rockingham Hall | 1 | 3/27/2009 07:54 | Room heater | 0 | 0 | $500.00 |
Dingledine Hall | 1 | 2/1/2009 20:35 | Burnt food | 0 | 0 | $200.00 |
Rockingham Hall | 1 | 5/21/2010 12:14 | Electrical | 0 | 0 | $500.00 |
Hillside Hall | 1 | 1/16/2013 00:21 | Arson bulletin board in hallway set on fire | 0 | 0 | <$500.00 |
Ikenberry Hall | 1 | 3/29/2013 01:46 | Smoking material in trash can in bathroom | 0 | 0 | $0.00 |
Eagle Hall | 1 | 3/17/2015 22:31 | Fire Cardboard box on stove and burner was turned on | 0 | 0 | $1,500.00 |
Shorts Hall | 1 | 12/12/2016 01:00 07:00 | Arson bulletin board in hallway decorations | 0 | 0 | <10.00 |
singed along edges | ||||||
Kappa Alpha Theta | 1 | 6/19/2017 15:15 | Fire - Unoccupied residence hall undergoing asbestos abatement caught fire in kitchen/stove area caused by cardboard igniting in area | 0 | 0 | >100,000 |
White Hall 480 Carrier Drive | 1 | 9/12/2017 - 9/15/2017 Unknown | Arson/Property Damage A singed poster/note found on wall in hallway | 0 | 0 | $0.00 |
Shorts Hall 440 Lakeside Service Drive | 1 | 10/22/2018 | Fire - Pumpkin seeds roasting in oven ignited into a small fire - oven damaged | 0 | 0 | $500.00 |
Ikenberry Hall 210 Ikenberry Service Drive | 1 | 1/10/2019 00:56 | Arson - Charred paper freshly burned | 0 | 0 | $0.00 |
Chandler Hall 1621 Carrier Drive | 1 | 2/25/2021 15:19 | Fire - light fixture in ceiling caught fire | 0 | 0 | $30.00 |
Eagle Hall Champions Drive | 1 | 6/15/2021 9:06 | Fire - Unintentional - Construction crew on location at Eagle Hall was drilling down through the roof to run wire. When the heated drill bit came into contact with the paint on the interior ceiling, the heat caused the paint to flash and begin burning. Building unoccupied. | 0 | 0 | $500.00 |