Fatal off-campus student housing fire in Kansas adds to the national toll

 

Off-campus housing is the site of almost 80 percent of the fatalities

 

BELCHERTOWN, Mass., Feb. 14, 2006— A fire in an off-campus student house in Pittsburg, Kansas killed two occupants over the weekend.  The third occupant, a student at Pittsburg State University, was able to escape.  The identity of the two victims is being withheld at this time, but a university official confirmed that they had been enrolled at the University in 2005.  Kansas now ranks fifth in the nation in student housing fire fatalities.

 

This tragedy is the latest in a series of fires across the nation in student housing.

• David Ellis, a 23-year-old senior at the University of Maryland, died on January 24 in an off-campus fire.  This is the second fatal fire within nine months in College Park.
• A fire struck at a condominium complex in Boulder, Colorado on January 22, causing significant damage and displaced 25 students from the University of Colorado.
• A college-owned home at Monmouth College in Illinois was destroyed by a fire on January 24 and displaced five students.
• A fire destroyed an off-campus apartment building in Vestal, New York on January 26 and displaced 35 students from Binghamton University.
• Two separate fires in residence halls at the University of Hartford on January 28 and February 12 were controlled by the activation of automatic fire sprinkler systems.

 

The two victims in Pittsburg are the fifth and sixth fire fatalities in student housing this academic year.  In addition to the fire that killed David Ellis, two students died in an off-campus fire in Raleigh, North Carolina and another student was killed in an off-campus fire in Lawrence, Kansas.

 

Nationwide, 84 people have been killed in student housing since January 2000, as identified by the Center for Campus Fire Safety, a non-profit organization that compiles information on campus-related 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:

 

• Lack of automatic fire sprinklers
• Disabled smoke alarms
• Careless disposal of smoking materials
• Alcohol consumption

 

 “It is vital that students learn the steps they can take to protect themselves, their friends and roommates from fire,” said Ed Comeau, director of the Center for Campus Fire Safety.  Some of these include:

 

·         Choose fire-safe housing that includes automatic fire sprinklers

·         Install interconnected smoke alarms on every level and ensure that they are working at all times.

·         Know two ways out, no matter where you are – a residence hall, your house or apartment, a restaurant or a movie theater.

·         If a smoke alarm is being activated needlessly, such as by cooking or steam from a shower, relocate the smoke 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.

·         Learn how to use a fire extinguisher BEFORE a fire breaks out.

·         Properly use extension cords and electrical appliances.

 

 “Learning these fire safety behaviors will help people during their college years and throughout their lives,” said Comeau.  “These are ‘life skills’ that might become ‘life-saving skills’ someday.”

 

According to the Center, April and May, followed by August and September, are the two most dangerous periods of time for student housing fire fatalities.  Last year, September was designated as National Campus Fire Safety Month to help raise the national awareness of campus fire safety and for the first time since January 2000, no student housing fire deaths occurred during August and September.

 

More information on campus fire safety can be found at the Center’s Web site at www.campusfire.org, including a compilation of all of the fatal fires in student housing identified by the Center, a list of questions that parents and students can ask when looking at student housing and video clips of training programs the Center has been involved with.  This information can be found in the RESOURCE section of the Center’s Web site.

 

The Center for Campus Fire Safety, a leader in fire safety, is a non-profit organization that is devoted to reducing fires at campuses across the nation through education and advocacy.