Summer is beginning to come to a close. In a matter of weeks, students will be heading back to school. For many college freshmen, this will be their first experience away from home. While classes, exams, homework, grades, and parties are on most students’ minds, they often forget to think of one topic that could be the difference between life and death: fire safety.

Since 2000, 89 people have died as a result of college campus fires. These fires occurred in both on- and off-campus housing. Roughly ¾ of the fires occurred in off-campus housing which includes apartments, rental homes, and Greek housing. Three contributing factors that often play some part in campus fires are cooking, careless smoking, and alcohol. The saddest statistic is that most of these fires were preventable.

There are a few simple steps that both parents and students can take to make their college life experience a little safer.

• When the fire alarm goes off, leave the building. Do not assume it is a drill or prank.
• Test smoke detectors once a week; change the batteries once a semester.
• Find out if the building is equipped with an automatic sprinkler system.
• Are halogen lamps, smoking, or candles prohibited from dorm rooms? Try to refrain from using them either way, as they are common causes of fire.
• Ask the school how much fire prevention training the residence hall staff receives. Is it offered to all students?
• Use common sense; don’t overload receptacles, don’t leave any cooking or open flames unattended, and if you are going to smoke, don’t be careless.

Be sure to take time out to think about these few simple steps. For more information, about campus fire safety, visit www.campusfire.org. Hopefully, this is one lesson all students will pass; their lives may depend upon it.