Contact: Ed Comeau, Publisher
Campus Firewatch
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ecomeau@campus-firewatch.com

Fire in off-campus house in Ithaca, New York kills one student

Eighteen people have died in campus-related fires this academic year, the second-highest total since 2000

BELCHERTOWN, Mass., May 21, 2008 — A student attending Tompkins Cortland Community College in Dryden, New York, was killed on Monday in an off-campus fire in nearby Ithaca, New York. Michelle Morey, 29, was a full-time student in the Office Management and Administration degree program reported college spokesman Peter Voorhees.

The fire was reported at approximately 6:30 am in a two-story duplex according to Ithaca Fire Department Deputy Chief Tom Parsons. The building was a two-story, wood frame, side-by-side duplex. It was equipped with interconnected, hardwired smoke alarms that did activate and alerted the occupants to the fire. The fire originated in the living room area on the first floor and at this time the cause of the fire is still under investigation. It is not believed to be incendiary.

The two female occupants were asleep in bedrooms on the second floor. The neighbors reported hearing the women screaming and when they looked towards the fire building they could see both occupants in windows on the second floor. One woman was forced to jump and her fall was broken by two civilians.

Upon arrival, the fire department reported that the building was fully involved and bystanders told the first-arriving units that there was still one occupant inside of the building. Fire department personnel made entry into the building and found the victim on the second floor.

This is the 18 th student-related fire death for the 2007-2008 academic year, the second highest total on record since 2000. Campus Firewatch has identified 129 student-related fire deaths across the nation from 1999 with 84 percent of them occurring in off-campus housing, which is where more than two-thirds of the students live, according to the U.S. Department of Education. (Please note that the number of total fatalities previously listed by Campus Firewatch since 1999 has been reduced by one to 129 due to a recording error.)

Common factors in a number of these fires include:

• Lack of automatic fire sprinkler system
• Missing or disabled smoke alarms
• Careless disposal of smoking materials
• Impaired judgment from alcohol consumption

These tragedies demonstrate the importance of knowing how to prevent a fire and what to do if one breaks out, no matter where you may be.

A detailed information sheet on campus-related fires, a compilation of these fires and a map of the locations can be downloaded from the RESOURCE page of Campus Firewatch at www.campus-firewatch.com .

Campus Firewatch, in publication since 2000, is a monthly electronic newsletter focusing on campus fire safety.For more information, visit our website at www.campus-firewatch.com .