The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB)
2017 Annual Fire Safety Report
(2014-2016* On-Campus Student Housing Fire Statistics) Provided by the UTMB Department of Internal Investigations
Introduction The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) is concerned about the safety and welfare of all UTMB campus members and guests and commits itself to promoting a safe and secure environment. UTMB has developed a series of policies and procedures designed to ensure an appropriate level of precaution is taken to protect the campus community. The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) amended the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). The Clery Act and its accompanying regulations have established requirements for colleges in the area regarding fire safety and reporting. All Title-IV eligible institutions that participate in Title-IV programs and maintain on-campus student housing facilities are required to publish an Annual Fire Safety Report that outlines the fire safety-systems, policies, practices, and statistics of the university. Colleges must report only those fires that occur within an on-campus student housing facility. Colleges may not simply report all fires that occur anywhere on campus. Colleges must report on the number of fires (if any) that occur in on-campus student housing facilities, the cause of each fire, the number of persons who received fire-related injuries that resulted in treatment at a medical facility, the number of deaths related to the fires (including someone who dies within a year from injuries sustained), and the value of fire-related property damage. The United States Department of Education (ED) regulations and commentary indicate that both the Clery Act Annual Security Report and the Annual Fire Safety Report can be distributed to the campus community in a single document or in separate documents. If reported separately, each report must contain information on how to directly access the other. The UTMB Department of Internal Investigations creates the Annual Security Report and the Annual Fire Safety Report for UTMB. The Annual Security Report and the Annual Fire Safety Report can be found within the offices of the Department of Internal Investigations: Rebecca Sealy Bldg., 404 8th Street, Suite 2.302, Galveston, TX 77555-0134, or UTMB’s Police Department: Rebecca Sealy Bldg., 404 8th Street, Room 2.712, Galveston, TX 77555-0101. These reports can also be accessed on the following websites: https://www.utmb.edu/firesafetyreport https://www.utmb.edu/securityreport/ https://www.utmb.edu/police/ https://www.utmb.edu http://intranet.utmb.edu/iutmb/
Legal Requirements Regulations regarding the Annual Fire Safety Report state an institution that maintains any on-campus student housing facility must prepare an Annual Fire Safety Report that contains, at a minimum, the following information: 1) Fire statistics for each on-campus student housing facility for the three most recent calendar years for which data is available. 2) A description of each on-campus student housing facility fire safety-system. 3) The number of fire drills held during the previous calendar year. 4) The institution’s policy on portable electrical appliances, smoking, and open flames in a student housing facility. 5) The institution’s procedures for student housing evacuation in the case of a fire. * The information in this report is categorized by calendar years.