Fraternity Fire Kills One; Third Campus Death in Two Weeks

An early morning fire on Nov. 29 in the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at the University of Missouri-St. Louis killed a 25-year-old senior. This fire death comes less than two weeks after two other campus fire deaths across the nation.

On Nov. 16, a student was killed in a fraternity fire at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska. On the same day, a student at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania succumbed to injuries he received in an off-campus fire on Nov. 4.

Nationwide, 92 people have been killed in campus-related fires since January 2000, as identified by the Center for Campus Fire Safety, a non-profit organization that compiles information on these fires. Almost 80 percent of the fire fatalities have occurred in off-campus occupancies, such as rented houses and apartments.

Common factors in a number of these fires include:
* a lack of automatic fire sprinklers
* disabled smoke alarms
* careless disposal of smoking materials
* alcohol consumption.

Recommended steps to prevent such fires include these:
* Choose fire-safe housing, either on- or off-campus, that includes automatic fire sprinklers.
* Make sure there are interconnected smoke alarms on every level, and ensure that they are working at all times. Always evacuate whenever the alarm is activated.
* Know two ways out of a building, whether it's a residence hall, a house or apartment, a restaurant, or a  theater.
* If a smoke alarm is activated needlessly, such as by cooking or steam from a shower, relocate the  alarm instead of disabling it.
* Properly dispose of smoking material by using ashtrays.
* After parties, check the cushions on couches and chairs to make sure there aren't any lit cigarettes smoldering.
* Properly use extension cords and electrical appliances.

More information on campus fire safety is available at www.campusfire.org .

---

---

---

Related Topics: