By Ed Comeau
A report from Campus Firewatch says that, in the last two academic years, there have been four college/university-related fire deaths each year. This would be the lowest since records started being kept in 2000, and a downward trend from the peak of 20 fire deaths in 2006/2007.
- Since 2000, 170 people have been killed in college/university-related fires
- Four out of five of these deaths occur in off-campus housing
- Approximately 2/3 of the students across the nation live in off-campus housing
- The last residence hall fire death occurred in 2005
- The last Greek fire death (fraternity or sorority) occurred in 2006
Much of the off-campus housing is converted one- and two-family houses, and these occupancies are often not upgraded or maintained. Because of this, Campus Firewatch believes that this progress can be attributed not necessarily to safer housing, but through programs being done by schools and communities that teach students about their personal fire safety responsibility.
In addition, the nation’s governors have issued over 300 Campus Fire Safety Month proclamations since 2005, helping to increase awareness about the importance of campus fire safety. (A list of states and proclamation language is available at Campus Firewatch.)
For more, go to www.campus-firewatch.com.
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