Study up on fire safety!

If you are a student preparing to venture off to college, the Colorado Springs Fire Departments want you to be as fire safe as possible. College students living away from home should take a few minutes to make sure they are living in a fire-safe environment. There are more fires and fire related injuries that occur in off-campus housing, so make sure you and your roommates are working together to prevent fires from happening.
 

Even though smoking might be banned in your residence hall, the students who do smoke need to know how to do it safely, especially for when they move off-campus. Even if you don’t smoke, you might have roommates or guests that do. If you smoke, smoke outside and only where it is permitted, use sturdy, deep, non-tip ashtrays. Don’t smoke in bed or when you’ve been drinking or are drowsy.

Cooking equipment is the cause of about three-quarters of fires, and most fires begin in a kitchen or cooking area. Do not leave your cooking unattended. Unattended cooking can become a fire that destroys your books, clothes and a semesters work. It can injure and kill. Unattended cooking is one of the leading causes of fire alarms in residence halls and is the leading cause of fires in homes across the country. 

Action Steps You Can Take

LOCAL FACT:
Arson is the second leading cause of campus fires. Report suspicious fires or signs of burning, regardless of the size to school officials.

  • Look for fully sprinklered housing when choosing a dorm or off-campus housing.
  • Test all smoke alarms at least monthly.
  • Never remove batteries or disable the alarm.
  • If you live in an apartment or house, make sure smoke alarms are installed in each sleeping room, outside every sleeping area, and on each level of the apartment unit or house. For the best protection, all smoke alarms in the apartment unit or house should be interconnected so that when one sounds, they all sound.
  • If you live in a dormitory, make sure your sleeping room has a smoke alarm, or your dormitory suite has a smoke alarm in each living area as well as the sleeping room. 
  • Know two ways out, no matter where you are. You never know when an emergency will happen. Learn your building’s evacuation plan and practice all drills as if they were the real thing.
  • When the smoke alarm or fire alarm sounds, get out. Never go back into the home after you have left.

You can download and print this College Campus Fire Safety flier for more information.