By Marrissa Ballard | Staff Writer
According to Salve Safety and Security, there has been an epidemic of small mulch fires around campus. The culprit? Improperly discarded cigarette butts.
Throughout the months of August and September, Security responded to two calls regarding smoldering mulch directly associated with cigarette butts. On August 25th, security responded to a call outside the Mercy Chapel, where the mulch was actually on fire. Security had to use a hose and a shovel in order to completely extinguish the flame.
On Sept. 23rd, they received another call from me and Todd Mele, a professor in the Sociology department, when a cigarette fire had started in the rose garden outside of McAuley. It took 4 buckets of water to stop the smoke.
In addition to the mulch issue, on September 29th, a groundskeeper noticed that the porch outside of Narragansett Hall had burns on the deck. There was also an ashtray on the porch overfilled with cigarettes.
Improperly discarding cigarette butts might not seem like a big deal to most students, but because the months of August and September were so dry, it was actually quite dangerous, according to Michael Caroulo, Director of Safety and Security. When mulch catches on fire and smokes, the smoke actually tunnels under and through the mulch, which makes it very difficult to extinguish. Caroulo said that it is definitely a fire hazard, and a violation of campus policy as well as state law.
According to page 80 of the Student Handbook, smoking is not permitted in any dorm buildings and is also prohibited within 50 feet of any building on campus. The campus does contain cigarette receptacles, and some of the fires happened within feet of a receptacle.
“It is just a matter of educating our campus community on the proper disposal of cigarette butts,” Caroulo said.
Caroulo is hoping to see the issue resolved in the near future as more awareness is raised on campus.
