The Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know Act informs prospective and current students of the policies, concerns, and fire safety conditions that are present at the institution in which they have applied or are enrolled.
Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) documents and shares information about on-campus fires with the UW community for fire safety education and to prevent future incidents.
Fire safety reports
The annual UW Seattle Security and Fire Safety Report is a report required by the Jeanne Clery Act that covers fire incidents and crime statistics published by the UW Police Department.
Annual Fire Safety Reports for other UW campuses:
Fire incidents
View a report of recent fires on the Seattle campus.
Report fires
Report all unintended fires, including unintended open flames and smoke without a visible flame, to Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) at uwfire@uw.edu or (206) 685-0341.
What residence hall fires are reportable by law?
Fire incidents are defined in the Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting:
“Any instance of open flame or other burning in a place not intended to contain the burning or in an uncontrolled manner”.
The following are examples of fires that are required to be reported uwfire@uw.edu or (206) 685-0341.
- Trash-can fire
- Oven or microwave fire
- Burning oven mitt on a stove
- Grease fire on a stovetop
- Flame coming from electric extension cord
- Burning wall hanging or poster
- Fire in an overheated bathroom vent fan
- Couch that is burning without any flame evident
- Chimney fire
- Gas stove fire
- Fuel burner or boiler fire
The following are examples of fires that are not required to be reported to EH&S (under the Fire Safety Right-to-Know Act) but may be reportable under departmental policies:
- Sparks or smoke where there is no open flame or other burning
- Burnt microwave popcorn that triggers a fire alarm or smoke detector but no open flames or other burning is present
- Attempted arson in cases where there is no open flame or burning
- Fires in parking facilities and dining halls that are not physically attached to (and accessed directly from) on-campus student housing facilities, even if the facilities are reserved for the use of residents in those housing facilities
- Incidents that violate the UW’s fire safety policies but that do not meet the definition of a fire
When in doubt, ask your supervisor or someone in charge.
More information
The Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know Act serves to increase campus fire safety awareness across the nation, providing students and their families with the fire safety records of colleges and universities. Signed into law on August 14, 2008, this amendment requires post-secondary institutions to publicly display fire safety information and statistics.