Members of some fraternities and sororities on campus have been getting a bit of a startling study break recently.

As part of a new initiative to educate residents of fraternity and sorority houses at the University, fire safety officials from the Washtenaw County Chapter of the American Red Cross and the Ann Arbor Fire Department have been visiting the houses and conducting surprise fire simulations.

The fire drills and feedback sessions are part of a recent collaboration between the Red Cross, the AAFD and the University’s Office of Greek Life to test Greek houses’ ability to evacuate safely in case of an emergency.

Jim Rampton, community disaster education coordinator for the Washtenaw County Chapter of the American Red Cross, said the initiative was developed because of the 2008 fire at the Delta Upsilon fraternity house. In May 2008, the house, located at 1331 Hill Street, caught fire, destroying a large portion of the structure.

After conducting some research, Rampton said he concluded that the Greek community is at “high risk” when it comes to fire danger.

According to a 2009 Federal Emergency Agency report on fires in on- and off-campus housing at universities, fraternity and sorority house fires account for a small portion of the total number of fires that occur at colleges across the country. However, the report also found that fires at fraternity and sorority houses account for a larger portion of larger fires.

According to the FEMA report, fraternity and sorority houses across the country account for 13 percent of non-confined fires, 4 percent of confined fires and 6 percent of all university housing fires.

Once the Ann Arbor Fire Department and the Office of Greek Life decided to team up, Rampton said officials devised a plan, which would include fraternities and sororities that chose to participate after being asked by the Office of Greek Life.

Because the fire simulations are meant to be as realistic as possible, most of the people living in the house don’t know when they will happen. Only the chapters’ presidents are informed of the dates of the fire simulations, Rampton said.

When the fire simulation starts, the house’s fire alarm is pulled. When residents leave the house, they are greeted by a fire truck and American Red Cross cars. Once everyone has exited the house, the residents are informed that it is a fire simulation and then participate in an interactive feedback session with members of both the AAFD and the American Red Cross.

The purpose of the feedback session is to explain to the members of the house how they could better improve their evacuation in the event of a real fire.

The first fire simulation was conducted in the middle of February, Rampton said.

LSA junior James Milne, risk manager for Phi Delta Theta — a fraternity that participated in a simulation earlier this month — said the experience was helpful to the fraternity’s members.