Public Safety and the Division of Fire and Life Safety stand ready 24 hours-a-day to respond to any fire alarm or report of burning odors in campus facilities. Our duty is to assure the safety of everyone on the CofC Campus. However, fire alarms alone do not ensure any person's safety unless that person knows how to safely exit a building when the fire alarm sounds.

Fire Drills are normally conducted at the beginning of the school year in all residence halls. The first drill is scheduled early in the fall semester to acquaint new residents with the sound of the building alarm and evacuation procedures. Specific evacuation locations or assembly sites for each residence hall are identified in the CofC Guide to Residence Living available from Residence Life and Housing.

If residents do not evacuate a hall in a reasonable amount of time, the drill is repeated until Fire and Life Safety officials are satisfied with the evacuation time. All repeat drills are unannounced.

Fire drills are also conducted on a regular basis for the Early Child Development Day Care Center. Drills for other campus buildings are not conducted unless requested by the building's occupants.

When the fire alarm sounds, you should leave the building immediately--even if someone else tells you it is a false alarm. Do not use elevators and do not assume it is an alarm test (unless a test has been announced)—treat every fire alarm as if a fire has occurred.

You may go back into the building when personnel from CofC Public Safety in coordination with the City of Charleston Fire Dept., tell you it’s safe to re-enter.

CofC Public Safety and/or Fire and Life Safety personnel respond to fire alarms (24 hours-a-day, 365 days-a-year) to assist the Fire Department with building and room entry. CofC Fire and Life Safety can also provide information about a particular area due to their familiarity with the fire alarm system and practice of inspecting buildings. They help locate the alarm area for the Fire Department by checking and operating the fire alarm control panel. While trained in fire-fighting techniques, CofC Fire and Life Safety personnel will not normally fight fires unless the Fire Department asks for their assistance.