However the training is delivered, the U.S. Fire Administration suggests that campus fire safety programs:
- Teach students how and where to properly notify the fire department using the 9-1-1 system
- Create and update detailed floor plans of buildings, and make them available to emergency personnel, resident advisors and students
- Conduct fire drills and practice escape routes and evacuation plans, urging students to take each alarm seriously
Merced has learned that administrators cannot simply post fire emergency plans and routes because students don’t seem to pay attention. “Practicing those drills is a must,” says Krippner. “And with iPods and other personal music and video devices, students often miss the alarms because they’re wearing headphones. Therefore, we train our resident advisors to knock on doors and check computer labs and laundry rooms, if it’s safe to do so.”
Further, Cornell’s emergency services team partners with its judicial administrator’s office to work with students who are cited for fire-related incidents. “We try to make a learning opportunity for these students,” says DeMarco. “We require them to shadow our emergency services team, review fire safety videos or Web sites, and then write a paper on what he or she has learned.”
Statistics show that a large percentage of campus-related fires occur in off-campus or Greek housing, where fire protection equipment may be inadequate. For Cornell, the hope is that training and educating students while they live on campus will resonate when they move into off-campus housing.
New national legislation is shining the spotlight on campuses’ fire safety records. As parents visit prospective higher education schools with their children, the quality of education will not be the only item parents look to measure. Their children’s safety will surely be top-of-mind as they send them away from their care for the first time. Will your campus’s fire safety program make the grade?
