As part of the College's ongoing commitment to safety, the Department of Environmental Health and Safety wanted to make you all aware of an important inspection that is right around the corner.
Beginning this Monday, Oct. 4, we will once again undergo a required fire inspection, where a New York State fire inspector examines our campus to ensure compliance with the Fire Code and Property Maintenance Code. This legally required inspection will be as unobtrusive as possible, but will require us to come through all buildings and most offices. At all times, persons involved with this process will be wearing proper personal protective equipment (PPE) and will not be touching any materials, with the exception of mechanisms required to operate doors or elevators.
The process will begin with a preliminary inspection, during which the inspector will be going through the campus to ensure that we meet (and hopefully exceed) all requirements of the applicable International and State Codes. Any instances of non-compliance will result in "violations" being assigned to the College. These items must then be corrected, or "abated." by a certain date as established in New York State Law. Violations that have not yet been corrected after a subsequent re-inspection may result in fines. Depending on the severity of the individual violation, fines range anywhere from $50 to $500 per day for every day the violation existed.
We hope that through a concerted effort we can work together to identify and report any issues beforehand so that they may be corrected. Any issues that need attention from Physical Plant can be reported using the work order system or by calling (315) 267-2598. Important safety concerns can be reported directly to the Office of Environmental Health & Safety at (315) 267-2596, or by emailing robertcj@potsdam.edu.
Be prepared! Here are the top 10 fire safety violations to avoid in office spaces.
To view our campus fire safety and prevention plan, read fire safety tips and find more details on the mandated OFPC Inspections, visit our Environmental Health and Safety website.