Fire Safety and Compliance

History

The Washington State University Fire Department was formed sometime prior to 1909. The student fire fighting program started around 1922-23 and trained hundreds of student fire fighters until the department was discontinued in 2005. The City of Pullman went into contract with the university to provide fire suppression and ambulance transport responsibilities. WSU maintained a Fire Marshal until 2015 when the position transitioned into a Fire Safety and Compliance role.

The Fire Safety and Compliance position is responsible for inspecting university buildings making sure they adhere to the International Fire Code and Washington State University standards. The position is also responsible for educating the staff, students, and faculty about fire safety, building evacuations, and the proper use of fire extinguishers. The City of Pullman Fire Marshal’s Office works closely with the WSU Fire Safety and Compliance position to further the universities safety goals.

Resources

Visit these resources to improve the fire and general safety in your workplace.

Fires on Campus

General Campus use as well as RV/Game Day

• Prohibited:
  • NO wood burning campfires or smokers/grills
  • NO charcoal grills/smokers
• Allowed
  • Propane barbecues/grills/smokers
  • Portable propane fire pits
  • Pellet grills/smokers
  • Electric and pellet smokers

Additional Information:

• Prohibited Open Burning: Open burning that is offensive or objectionable because of smoke emissions or when atmospheric conditions or local circumstances make such fires hazardous shall be prohibited. Sec.307.1.1 IFC
• Extinguishment Authority: The fire code official is authorized to order the extinguishment by the person responsible or the fire department of open burning that creates or adds to a hazardous or objectionable situation. Sec.307.3 IFC

Fire Extinguisher Training

In-person fire extinguisher training is available. Classes are usually about an hour long and can be done inside, anytime of the year and include Augmented Reality hands on training. If your department/unit would like in-person fire extinguisher training please call 509-335-7471 or email dougand@wsu.edu.

Online fire extinguisher training is also available through WSU Online Learning.