More than a year after MSB senior Daniel Rigby died in a basement fire in his off-campus townhouse, one administrator said that area housing safety can still be improved, though some students living off campus said they were not concerned.

Rigby’s townhouse had housing code violations before his death in October 2004. More than 40 Georgetown students living on Prospect Street between 32nd and 34th Streets were evacuated less than a week after the fire after city officials discovered that their off-campus townhouses also failed to meet city standards.

The need to maintain fire safety measures was underscored late last month, when James Ellis, a 22-year-old University of Maryland student, was killed when a fire broke out in his off-campus apartment.

A College Park council member was quoted in The Washington Post as saying that the apartment building where Ellis lived had been previously cited by the city for having windows too small to permit easy escape in an emergency.

Chuck VanSant, director of Off-Campus Student Life, said that no students have been evicted from off-campus housing after code violations this year, but concerns have persisted. In some cases landlords have been sluggish to repair appliances, though he added that there have been no instances of imminent danger.

VanSant also said that, in order to be listed on the university’s Web site for off-campus housing, townhouse owners must show proof of a Basic Business License issued by the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, proving that they have passed all safety inspections. Students, however, are free to occupy townhouses regardless of whether they have passed inspections, he added.

“What we do is encourage students to get them inspected,” VanSant said. “If we can get all of these houses inspected, then we have more insurance that these students are living in safe housing.”

VanSant said that Rigby’s death made him more forceful in alerting students about safety concerns.

“I’ve learned a lot,” he said. “We’ve always had good information, but we’ve been more aggressive about handing them out to students,” he said.

But even after Rigby’s and Ellis’ deaths, some students – even those who live close to the spot where Rigby died – see safety as a low priority.

Stephen Burns (MSB ’06), who lives in a Prospect Street townhouse evacuated following Rigby’s death, said that he and his housemates did not consider safety a high priority while searching for a house.

“We were just trying to find a place,” he said.

Burns said he did not know if the residence had received a Basic Business License and that he had not tried to find out.

Burns added, however, that his landlord has been “very responsive” to all his concerns and that there have been so serious issues with the townhouse.

“I’ve never felt personally in danger,” he said.

Matt Kelly (COL ’06), who moved into his townhouse during his junior year, said that his landlord renovated parts of the basement during the summer.

“It’s more safe now,” he said.

Kelly said that the townhouse passed an inspection conducted after Rigby’s death, and that he feels safe. Kelly added that safety was not a concern when he moved into the house.

“I thought everything was pretty much the same while I was looking,” he said.

Dan Cordisco (MSB ’06), who lives in a townhouse with five other students, said that he has found his landlord unresponsive when he and his roommates reported problems with rats, heating and the washer and dryer.

“They haven’t been addressed in really a timely manner,” he said.

But Cardisco said that residents have yet to discover any faults that may seriously compromise safety.