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SAFETY MADE SIMPLE

Do Your Homework: Back-to-School Fire Safety

Six million young adults will leave home to attend colleges and universities this fall. Whether heading to the residence hall, fraternity or sorority house or off-campus housing, packing fire safety equipment along with laundry baskets and shower caddies is a must.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, an estimated 2,530 reported fires in dormitory properties1 caused six civilian deaths, 82 civilian injuries and $48.5 million in estimated direct property damage in 2001. A working smoke alarm doubles a person's chance of surviving a fire and could reduce fatalities by up to 90 percent.

Taking fire safety precautions in both on- and off-campus housing can be as easy as learning the ABCs. By following these simple tips, students can significantly increase their chance of escaping a fire unharmed:

Create a Safe Home Away from Home - Off-Campus Safety Tips

  • Install smoke alarms in every room of the housing unit, including basements, kitchens, finished attics, bedrooms, outside of sleeping areas, and at the top and bottom of stairways.
  • For maximum protection, install a mix of photoelectric and ionization smoke alarms or dual sensor alarms with both photoelectric and ionization technology, which may provide the best opportunity of detecting either smoldering or fast flaming fires sooner.
  • To help ensure ample battery power, replace the batteries in smoke alarms at the beginning of fall and spring semesters.
  • Keep a fire extinguisher within easy reach in rooms where fires are most likely to start, such as the kitchen, bedroom, living room, any room with a chimney and laundry room.
  • When purchasing a fire extinguisher, choose the largest size that can be handled comfortably.

Additional Residence Hall and Off-Campus Safety Tips

  • Never remove batteries from smoke alarms.
  • Do not leave burning candles, incense, or a lit cigarette unattended.
  • Identify the location of fire extinguishers throughout your residence hall or apartment complex.
  • Use a fire extinguisher when the fire is small and contained and when there is a clear exit behind you.
  • Purchase a fire extinguisher to keep in your room. Use a fire extinguisher to help create an escape path to safety when all exit and escape routes are blocked by fire.
  • Always call the fire department before you try to extinguish the fire yourself.
  • If you discharge a university-provided fire extinguisher, tell the residence hall manager so that the unit can be replaced.
  • Do not play with fire extinguishers.
  • Whether you live in the a residence hall or in off-campus housing, store escape ladders near windows in second- and third-floor bedrooms to create additional escape paths to safety.
  • Be familiar with at least two escape routes and practice an escape plan at different times of day and night to mimic the most difficult fire situation you might encounter.
  • Never re-enter a burning building.

For a complete list of questions parents and residents should ask about fire safety, visit www.campusfire.org or www.nfpa.org.

1 Dormitories include school, college and university dormitories; nurses' quarters; convent, monastery and other religious dormitories; and bunk houses and worker's barracks.

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