Campus Fire Safety

It is important for all college students to prioritize fire safety, whether they live alone or with friends, on-campus or off, or in a house or an apartment building. 

Mixing alcohol with fire is extremely dangerous. Many times when there are fire deaths on college campuses, alcohol is involved. About 25 percent of campus fire deaths happen after parties. Alcohol and fires are closely connected. When you're drunk, your judgment gets worse, and it's harder to get out of a fire. You might not wake up when a smoke alarm goes off, or you might not react quickly enough to escape.

Fires often start when people who've been drinking fall asleep or aren't careful when they're smoking. If you smoke and drink, the risk of fires, fire injuries, and fire deaths goes up.

Arson is the second most common cause of fires on campuses, right after cooking accidents. More than half of campus arson fires happen in on-campus places where students live, like dorms, and most of them are set in hallways and corridors. Campus arson sometimes begins as a prank, but these pranks can become deadly because all big fires start from something small.

Arson has serious consequences- it can cause lifelong injuries or deaths. For example, setting a poster on fire outside a classroom or throwing firecrackers under a student's bed while they're asleep have caused student deaths. Even though these acts may seem harmless, they can lead to imprisonment or being kicked out of school.

So make sure you are smart about fire safety. Here are a few general tips to follow: 

• Make sure you have the required amount of smoke alarms in your home
• Test your smoke alarms regularly 
• Leave the building right away if you hear an alarm
• Evacuate the building and call 911 immediately if you you see smoke or fire 
• Keep flammable materials away from heat sources, like stoves, space heaters, etc. 
• Never leave candles, cigarettes, or other sources of ignition unattended.
• Store a fire extinguisher in your kitchen and make sure you know how it works 
• Don't overload outlets or extension cords. 
• Inspect power cords for frayed or exposed wires, or loose plugs.
• Don't alter a plug to make it fit an outlet. 
• Don't chain multiple extension cords together. 
• Make sure outlets have cover plates and no wires are exposed. 
• Don't cover lamps or lighting with clothing, paper, or anything that is flammable. 
• Report any damaged or vandalized fire safety equipment in an apartment, dorm, or building 
• Read fire safety information provided by your college or university. 
• Never pull a fire alarm unless it's an emergency. 
• Never participate in an activity that could create a fire hazard.