Finding value when shopping for housing is difficult because we pay not only for what we can see, but also for the unseen decisions and policies of the building’s management. Consider a student concerned because of the tragic fires in recent years who leases a building with fire pull stations under the assumption that maximum safety is provided. Due to grandfathering’ or legal loopholes this may not be the case.

Even when a building has a fire alarm system, they are not all the same. Some old fire alarm systems have horns to operate if this happened. Another problem is that all the circuits provided with the alarm may not be operational and yet be in compliance with the fire code.

Many fire alarms have safety circuits in addition to the main system. One such circuit is provided on a supervised’ system. The supervision circuit has a light that signals when the system’s integrity is lost. Think of this as a brake fail’ light on a car. If it was intentionally bypassed, the car could still run but it isn’t recommended. When many lives depend on safety equipment, shouldn’t all the circuits of the system be required to function? Isn’t that why they were provided?

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Since the fire department cannot accept the liability involved in performing extensive electrical tests, a written inspection is required by a certifies inspector. If management does not request a complete inspection, repair costs can be eliminated. If the additional circuits are not tested the building may be in compliance given that, the system was inspected and it operates under the ideal conditions during a fire drill.

Since it is not mandatory that certified alarm inspectors verify the integrity of the complete system, whether or not students get the fire protection they expect depends on luck and the ethics of the building owner(s). I believe that cheap prices are often at the expense of safety or other hidden value that students cannot see or often overlook. When profit becomes the sole motivation of a business, the law leaves us with caveat emptor.’ Shop wisely and good luck.