AAFD cites frat house for fire code violations

By Anna Clark

Daily Staff Reporter

Seven months after a fire raged through the basement of the Sigma Chi house on Washtenaw Street, causing more than $20,000 in damages, the fraternity was again forced to vacate the building -- this time for multiple fire code violations.

Removed fire doors, missing fire detectors, holes in walls and doors, empty fire extinguishers and electrical wiring in contact with water were among the violations, said Ann Arbor fire inspector Kevin Scarbrough.

"The operating computer for the alarm system was also tampered with -- the building system wasn't in operation at all. It was simply an unsafe place to be," Scarbrough said.

About 35 residents of the house were asked to leave last Tuesday afternoon, but temporary repairs to the house allowed fraternity members to move back into the house by the following evening.

Separate tickets were issued to both the Sigma Chi president and vice-president.

Scarbrough said that although immediate repairs were a "temporary fix," students could stay safely in the house.

"The situation was mostly remedied," he said.

"It was enough that they're able to stay there safely, although more thorough repairs will be done this summer."

Quick repairs included the patching of the holes in the building. The basement, the site of last fall's fire, had been re-exposed, but was closed up again.

The AAFD was alerted to possible problems at the Sigma Chi house by the ABC Alarm Company, which services the fraternity. The alarm company told fire officials that the system in the house was not responding.

Members of Sigma Chi could not be reached for comment, but Scarbrough said their reactions to the situation were "what you'd expect."

"They weren't exactly pleased," he said.

"We disrupted their residence at a very inconvenient time. But we didn't pick the time -- we had to address the situation when we became aware of it."

Last September's fire at Sigma Chi resulted from candles used for light in the basement.

At the time, Ann Arbor Fire Marshall Scott Raynurn praised the fraternity for following fire safety codes.

He said the house was in "great shape, with only some very minor violations."

In a report issued by the College Fire Safety Forum - a group of officials examining fire safety at colleges and universities - fraternities were highlighted as having a higher risk of fire death, compared with other university living environments including sororities and residence halls.

This is due to "poor maintenance of housekeeping" and "more frequent risky behavior."

Scarbrough said some departments in the AAFD are pushing for more fire education programs for the University in general and fraternities specifically.

"The AAFD Fire Prevention Division has requested additional personnel, for four years, to address these and other educational concerns," he said.

"These requests have not been a city-wide priority up to this fiscal year."

Sigma Chi members have been living in the building while renovations are done to their own house on State Street.

The building formerly housed the now-disbanded Phi Delta Theta fraternity.