Housing Division officials announced last week that natural trees will no longer be permitted in family housing apartments.
Adoption of the policy is based on a recommendation by the University’s Risk Management Office, with agreement of the Family Housing Safety Committee and Residents’ Council following review of materials on the hazards of live trees in apartment complexes.
“We reached this position very reluctantly,” says Eric Luskin, director of family housing. “No one likes to impinge on the ability of individuals to determine how they celebrate in the privacy of their homes, but our paramount concern is maintaining conditions that ensure the health and safety of community members.
“Though we have never had a fire in family housing due to a live tree, we are convinced that the prospect for a catastrophic event is substantial enough to warrant this new policy.”
Artificial trees are permitted under the new policy, but Luskin notes that even artificial trees with decorations require appropriate safety attention to ensure that lights and cords are in good working order.
The Risk Management Office, which manages insurance and liability programs for the University, based its recommendation on a series of experiments done by the Farmington Hills Fire Department. The experiments replicated the typical wood-frame construction used in Family Housing and the Northwood units.
In each instance, the entire tree was engulfed in flames within 11 seconds of when the first flame was observed. Total involvement of the entire room occurred 1.45 minutes into the fire, a period fire department personnel consider insufficient to permit safe escape of all family members.
