Historically, September is one of the most fatal months for campus fires, but for the first time since 2000 there were no fatalities last September.
Since January 2000, 88 people have died in campus-related fires across the country with almost 80% of them occurring in off-campus housing. Common factors that have been seen in a number of these fires include:
-Lack of automatic fire sprinklers;
-Missing or disabled smoke alarms;
-Careless disposal of smoking materials
-Alcohol consumption
In 2005, eleven states, including Mississippi, issued similar proclamations and a number of campuses across the country held campus fire safety events, according to the Center for Campus Fire Safety.
The group is also launching its second annual fire awareness campaign to help improve campus fire safety. Educational material is on its Web site, including a national campus fire survey compiled annually by the Princeton Review that rates colleges and universities on their fire safety.
More information on campus fire safety can be found at the Center’s Web site at www.campusfire.org including a compilation of all of the fatal fires in student housing identified by the Center.
The Center for Campus Fire Safety is a non-profit organization that is devoted to reducing fires at campuses across the nation through education and advocacy.
