DEAR COLLEAGUES
        We need as many Fire Chiefs or campus fire officials as possible to
send permission to Senator Edward's aide (Crystal Bennett) to use your
name as a co-signer on a letter supporting Senator Edward's bill (SB
2100).  This bill would create a grant program of $100 million each year
for 5 years as a matching programs designated to install fire sprinklers in
university student housing, fraternity and sorority houses.  This would be
impact legislation on the issue of safe student housing and is desperately
needed.  Too many universities use the excuse of "costs too much" to
delay or deny installation of fire sprinklers.

Please pass this along and consider supporting this fire protection
legislation.  We recovered 5 student bodies from a fraternity house fire
here in Chapel Hill that would have lived had there been a sprinkler
system in the house.  The scenario has been repeated elsewhere in the
country and this legislation would help us reduce that risk.

Contact Crystal at the email address below to express your support
and give permission to use your name and title or fax her your support
at 202-228-1374.  I will appreciate your support, firefighters in
university/college communities will appreciate your support, but most of
all parents on students will appreciate your support.  Thank you.
                            DAN JONES
Dan Jones
Fire Chief, Chapel Hill NC
Past Chairman of Board, ISFSI
Phone  919-968-2783
Fax    919-932-2956
Page   919-216-1499
302 N. Columbia Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27516

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From: Crystal_Bennett@edwards.senate.gov
[mailto:Crystal_Bennett@edwards.senate.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, April 04, 2000 1:01 PM
To: Dan Jones
Subject: Re:RE: letter of support
 

We will need different forms at different stages.  First, we need a letter with
as many "signatures" as possible from fire chiefs across the country.  (If we
have at least a dozen or so names, their permission to use their name and
title in lieu of an actual signature will be fine. We would just list their names
and titles at the end of the letter.  Hopefully this will make obtaining the
"signatures" relatively easy.)  My hope is to send this letter with the "dear
colleague" to Senators (so they could see that their constituents/fire
chiefs support the legislation).

A couple of weeks after we get the "dear colleague" out will be the time for
lobbying Senators -- letters from individual supporters, phone calls,
visits, etc.  This will also be the time for lobbying House members i.e. possibly
getting one to introduce the sprinkler bill in the House.