Staff Facilities

Our professional Estates team manage a diverse portfolio of Victorian and modern buildings, and our grounds and gardens.

There are occasions where maintenance may be required. If you are a member of College and wish to request maintenance, please do so via our online maintenance request form.

It is important that all maintenance requests are recorded in the maintenance request system. This allows the team to ensure that all requests are logged, actioned quickly and monitored. The system also provides the team with maintenance data which they can review, and use to improve service and how preventative maintenance is managed.

If there is an emergency the College Lodge (01865 274900) should be notified in the first instance, and an online request completed afterwards.

Fire Safety

Fire detection is installed throughout all St Hugh’s College buildings and is monitored 24 hours a day by the Lodge.

DIAL 999

If you are aware that there is a fire within the building, you should contact the Fire and Rescue Service by ringing 999 or 112 from outside the building and advising them that there is a confirmed fire at the property.

Fire safety advice

Please familiarise yourself with the layout of the buildings and the various fire safety measures installed there including:

• Fire doors (which should be kept closed).
• Fire information notices (available on each floor within the building).
• Fire extinguishers (installed in each corridor).
• The location of the various emergency call points (red boxes on the walls) which will activate the alarm if the glass is broken.

Please be considerate of both your safety and that of others within the building:

• Ensure that all fire doors and those fitted with closure devices are kept closed.
• Ensure that extraction systems are switched on when using kitchen and bathroom facilities (to reduce the risk of false alarm activation).
• Ensure that cooking appliances are only used within designated kitchen.
• Ensure that neither you nor your guests smoke or use candles, joss sticks, oil burners or similar items within the building.
• Aerosol sprays are used with caution (the system does not detect any difference between smoke and fine mist/spray).
• You must ensure the room is safe for College staff to enter. This includes making sure floor areas are clear from hazards such as electric cables, shoes and clothing.

Fire safety video

Watch the Oxford college fire safety video here

Your safety is our priority, so please take the time to watch the video.

When a fire alarm is activated

• In the event of a fire alarm being activated (other than for testing purposes), you must immediately vacate the building and assemble at the front of the building or the point mentioned on the blue and white signs near alarm panels and break glasses.
• Even if you are not aware of a fire within the building, please leave immediately when the alarm goes off and assemble outside the building and wait for the Lodge or University Security Services to arrive.
• Please do not leave the area as the Fire and Rescue Service or Lodge staff may wish to speak to residents when they arrive.
• Please note that once the alarm has been activated you must not re-enter the building unless told to do so by either the Fire and Rescue Service or Lodge staff; although the alarm has been silenced, it may not be safe for you to return inside.
• All residents should be aware that failure to evacuate the building or to disregard instructions of either the Fire and Rescue Service or Lodge staff will be viewed as a disciplinary offence which will be referred to the College Dean.
• All residents should also be aware that the Fire and Rescue Service in Oxford may charge for unnecessary call-outs.
• All residents are advised that they can contact the Lodge – 01865 274900 (24 hours)- in the event of a fire or similar emergency on site.

Fire alarm testing

The fire alarm, emergency light installations and fire extinguishers will be tested on a cyclical basis.

Fire drills

It is a legal requirement that the College carry out regular fire drills across its estate. In residential accommodation these are carried out once per term by the Lodge staff.

Failure to abide by College procedures and to evacuate the building within 3 minutes will be reported to the Dean for disciplinary action.

All residents are responsible for ensuring that fire exit doors, exit routes, corridors, landings and staircases (communal spaces in your licence agreement) are kept free of any debris, personal belongings and any other item which might restrict people exiting the building in an emergency.

If you have any concerns about corridors being blocked, please report an Accident and Near-Miss and get in touch with the Accommodation Office. These reports will be dealt with confidentially.

Kitchen safety

 Ensure that all fire doors and those fitted with closure devices are kept closed.

• Ensure that extraction systems are switched on when using kitchen facilities (to reduce the risk of false alarm activation).
• Ensure that cooking appliances are only used within designated kitchens.
• The use of toasters is prohibited in all parts of the college except communal kitchens.
• Ensure that items are not left unattended when cooking in the kitchens.
• Ensure that any cooking appliances provided by the college are used correctly and the instruction guidebooks are followed.
• Kettles provided should only be used to boil cold water.
• Care should be taken to ensure that kettles contain sufficient water when in use to ensure that they do not boil dry and become a possible fire hazard.
• Care should be taken to ensure that rice cookers contain sufficient water when in use to ensure that they do not boil dry and become a possible fire hazard.
• Care should be taken to ensure that microwave ovens are not operated when empty (this will damage the cooking element within the oven and increase the risk of fire and other damage to the oven). The instruction book provided with the oven should be read and followed at all times. If you have any queries, please contact the Accommodation Office.
• Do not pour cooking oil or fats down the sink. These should be poured into a bottle and put into food waste caddies.

College electrical regulations

You have a responsibility to yourselves and others to use electrical appliances safely.

Please read the following information carefully and follow the advice throughout your stay. Under the Electricity at Work Regulations Act 1989, there is an obligation on the College to control all electrical appliances connected to its electrical system. These regulations apply to all College residential and office accommodation.

The electricity supply is 230 / 240 volts, 50Hz. Appliances used in the UK must carry the appropriate British Standard number (1363), Kite mark and/or CE European mark. Please view further information here.

• Plugs must be fitted with a three pin 13-amp fuse, maximum.
• Low power appliances below 750 watts (i.e. radios, lamps, stereos etc.) should be fitted with a 3-amp fuse.
• Manufacturers’ instructions regarding fuse size should be adhered to where appropriate.
• Outer sheaths of cables must be kept in good condition and not worn, perished, split, stretched or twisted.
• Cables must be securely fixed into plugs and appliances.
• It is strictly forbidden to interfere with electrical fittings or with plugs and cables connected to electrical equipment provided by the College. Any defects in college equipment should be reported immediately through a Maintenance Request . It is forbidden to connect any appliances to a lighting circuit.
• The use of two- or three-way (cube) adapters in a socket outlet is not permitted under any circumstances. Short, multi-plug trailing sockets fitted with an appropriate fuse may be used.
• Residents are required by law to obtain a current license for private televisions.
• Electrical appliances should not be left plugged into the wall with the power turned on when they are not in use – this particularly applies to phone and IT chargers which can become very hot when not in use.
• Maintenance and cleaning staff are instructed to report equipment that appears to be non-compliant with the regulations. The College reserves the right to remove immediately equipment found to be non-compliant and dangerous.

The College’s decision on the use of any appliance is final. The college reserves the right to amend these regulations at any time without further notice.

• Items that cannot be brought into College residential property: any cooking equipment, any portable heaters or any open-flame items, personal furniture. Approval is required for anything outside of the standard College furniture or equipment inventory as well as anything that interferes with the fire safety system) – the Accommodation Office provides a detailed list of (non) permissible items on request.

We hope that all of our students and staff will stay safe during their time at St Hugh’s, but we realise that accidents can sometimes happen.

The College’s Health and Safety Policy requires that all accidents and near-miss accidents are recorded. This enables us to ensure that accidents are prevented in the future, and we would therefore encourage all students and staff of St Hugh’s to fill out the form below to report any accidents or near-misses.

The Health and Safety Executive defines an accident as “an event that results in injury or ill health” and a near-miss as “an event not causing harm, but [which] has the potential to cause injury or ill health”.

Please do let us know if you notice anything in and around College which you think might lead to an accident if left unchecked, or if you experience an accident.

Any urgent concerns may be directed to Paul Blake, Building Maintenance Manager, at paul.blake@st-hughs.ox.ac.uk

St Hugh’s is known as the ‘island site’ due to our beautiful gardens and sense of space. You can learn more about our gardens and the team who manage them here.