Questions to Ask

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Between January 2000 and April 2010, 135 people have died in campus-related fires, both on- and off-campus, across the country and countless others have been burned, lost their housing, personal belongings and school work in fires. 

When visiting a school or choosing housing, make an informed decision.  This is critically important for off-campus housing, where 84% of the fire fatalities have occurred.

Ask these questions…

• Is there a person on campus whose full-time job is fire safety?  Not all campuses have someone dedicated to just fire safety.
• How many fires have occurred campus in the past year?  How about fires in off-campus student housing?How many people have been killed or injured?
• Are residence halls, Greek Housing or off-campus housing equipped with an automatic fire sprinkler system?If not, why not?  Sprinklers provide that vital first line of defense when it comes to controlling a fire.  Many residence halls are not sprinklered - ask for your student to be put in sprinklered housing.
• Does every student’s room have a smoke alarm?Does it send a signal to campus security of the fire department?  Fire alarm systems will give everyone the warning that there is a fire and it is time to get out.
• How many false alarms have occurred in the residence halls?False alarms cause students to stop paying attention to the alarms, which can be a fatal decision.  False alarms ARE avoidable.
• What are the disciplinary steps taken against anyone who causes a false alarm, fails to evacuate during an alarm or tampers with fire safety equipment?
• Is the fire department IMMEDIATELY notified whenever ANY fire alarm system is activated?Some schools investigate the alarm first and then notify the fire department.  This delay can put more people at risk.  The fire department should automatically be notified of ALL alarms.
• What items are prohibited in residence halls because of fire safety? Are smoking, candles and Halogen lamps prohibited in the residence halls?  If not, they should be.
• Does the school have policies that electrical appliances and power strips be certified as safe and reliable?
• How much fire prevention training does the residence hall staff receive?
• How often do the students themselves receive fire prevention education?  This should continue throughout their academic career, not just while they are living in the residence halls.
• How often are evacuation drills conducted?  There should be at least one per semester.
• How often are fire safety inspections of the residence halls and student rooms done?Are the results made available to students and parents?

Make an informed, fire-safe decision when choosing a school!