Author: Clark Scally & Ian Mariani
In a new campaign for event safety by the Los Angeles County Fire Inspector, the Office of Student Life (OSL) said the planning and approval of on-campus events at Occidental are now subject to stricter standards, including earlier submissions and full floor-plans of upcoming events.
“To make sure that we are doing what we need to in order to keep our events as safe as possible, we will be filing paperwork with the L.A. County Fire Inspector for most events taking place on campus,” the OSL press release to the student body said. “This will require that event planners . . . begin their process at least three weeks in advance of their event.”
While in the past events could be submitted with a rough estimate of its layout up to two weeks before, this stricter enforcement has pressured all groups, students and official alike, to adjust their planning.
“At this point, [the Fire Inspector] forced us to do something we’ve been trying to do for three years, by implementing site plans for different venues on campus,” Director of Risk Management and Assistant Vice President Rebecca Dowling said.
Officially, little is amended for planning of campus events. No codes or regulations have changed, but stricter enforcement will press organizations to be more vigilant, according to Dowling.
“There’s an additional form to fill out, it’s quite simple. You still have to report the same things like the occupancy and the floor plan,” Dowling said.
Big events like Splatter or Spring Fest will also face scrutiny by the Fire Inspector in the coming semesters. For such large registered events like Splatter or Toga, a constant Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) presence is now required. Dowling explained that the LAFD has to be on site to ensure the safety of the event.
At least one Fire Inspector and his team will be at each major campus event to assure that the fire codes are being observed for the safety of the crowd and prevent any potential accidents.
Director of Student Life Tamara Rice denied that much has changed in terms of safety.
“It’s not that we used to not care about student safety. It’s just that [the L.A. County Fire Inspector is] being more watchful, not just with Oxy, but all the colleges in the area. It’s their job, after all,” Rice said.
It is unclear how this required presence will meet with the administration’s recent policy of having EMTs at large events, a decision influenced by the incidents at Toga and Splatter that was tested at last semester’s A-Trak concert, which took place accident-free.
Splatter was already singled out, according to Dowling, because the college failed to register the event with the proper authorities. The event falls under the clause of significant “change of use” of annual plans, meaning that registration and LAFD presence was required.
Details such as standing structures taller than 12 feet, barricades and a stage higher than 30 inches all needed to be registered with the fire department. These structures, while present at Splatter, were not properly reported.
No college official could confirm nor deny the scheduling of Splatter for next year, but the OSL remains hopeful about its ability to plan events smoothly in the future.
“[We have] been working to establish a good relationship with the Fire Inspector and other county staff to make sure that we continue to be in compliance with county regulations as well as best practices with regard to safety at our events,” their press release to students said.
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