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 semi-annual fire safety inspection of all campus facilities in cooperation with the State Fire Marshal's representative.

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 on site at the James Madison University Police Department located in Anthony Seeger Hall.