Tragedy stuck the campus of the University of Mississippi Friday when three people died in a fire the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house.

”To have a tragedy of this magnitude, where you have the devastation of a fire and the loss of the students, the trauma, the emotion that is suffered by the members of that organization as well as the community can’t be measured,” Chancellor Robert Khayat was quoted as saying Friday.

At the same time, significant fire hazards were found at the fraternity house recently.

The house had no sprinkler system. And fire inspection held Aug. 17 revealed the house also had no fire extinguishers in its kitchen, that mattresses blocked some doors and that paint was stored in the basement.

The fraternity wasn’t cited for the violations, but a meeting had been scheduled for Friday to discuss taking action on the problems. Unfortunately, that was to be too late for fire victims Howard Stone, William Townsend and Jordan Williams.

While Ole Miss officials said residence halls have fire safety policies, one dorm resident told the Associated Press her residence hall hadn’t had a fire drill in the four years she had lived there.

An investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives will ultimately determine factors that led to Friday’s blaze.

Meanwhile, however, we encourage the University of Mississippi and all other colleges and universities in Mississippi and Louisiana to go above and beyond what’s required by law to help make sure students are safe from fire hazards.

That’s what parents, students and taxpayers have a right to expect.