Fire & Life Safety

Lithium-ion batteries are used supply power to many kinds of devices including smart phones, laptops, e-scooters, e-bikes, and e-cigarettes, and are used in University operations and research applications. Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) encourages personnel and students to follow safety practices to reduce the possibility of a reaction, fire, or explosion when handling, charging, storing or disposing of lithium-ion batteries.

Storage

When 9-1-1 is called on the Seattle campus, UW Police and Seattle Fire Department emergency vehicles will use designated fire lanes to get to the scene of the emergency quickly. It is critical that campus fire lanes are kept clear at all times to avoid emergency responders losing time getting to someone who needs help.

The UW community can help save a life by knowing where automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are located in University buildings before a sudden cardiac arrest occurs. PulsePoint provides a map of AED locations and a free app that allows smartphone users to easily find AEDs at UW locations.

Seattle Fire Department launched an initiative to avoid “false” (preventable) alarms. 

Preventable alarms include:

University units and departments that establish hybrid work schedules need to ensure adequate coverage for evacuation wardens in the event of an emergency that requires evacuation. Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) recommends University units and departments train as many evacuation wardens as possible within their work areas to ensure there is at least one warden on site at all times during normal business hours.

Updated April 10, 2023

EH&S is offering a Low Voltage Electrical Safety training course which is required for University electricians, welders, and other personnel who are assigned to work with (or near) exposed electrical circuits operating at 50 to 600 volts to ground in accordance with the Washington Administrative Code (WAC 296-24 Part L).