Campus Firewatch

Google News: Fires raise concern about emergency preparedness among college students

2012-02-13T08:31:00.001-05:00

Fires raise concern about emergency preparedness among college students

Boston.com - ‎Feb 10, 2012‎

By Lisa Hagen, Globe Correspondent The Boston University student who leapt out of a second-floor window to escape a raging fire in Allston on Jan. 22 was discharged from the hospital on Feb. 6 and admitted into a rehabilitation center, according to ...

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Google News: Weekend Fire Leaves Students Homeless

2012-02-13T08:30:00.007-05:00

Weekend Fire Leaves Students Homeless

KPTM-TV - ‎10 hours ago‎

One fire-fighter was injured on the scene, and taken to the hospital. His injuries are not serious. Three Creighton University seniors lived in the home. They were at the library studying when the fire started, and are thankful they weren't home.

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Google News: UH Fire Jeapordizes School's Financial Documents, Student Loan Records

2012-02-13T08:30:00.005-05:00

UH Fire Jeapordizes School's Financial Documents, Student Loan Records

KITV Honolulu - ‎3 hours ago‎

HONOLULU -- Late Sunday afternoon University of Hawaii officials said employee pay checks were not burned in a fire that destroyed a building on the University of Hawaii Manoa campus. However, a UH spokesperson said other university services and ...

Fire destroys University of Hawaii at Manoa fiscal office Hawaii News Now

Fire at University of Hawaii destroys building that stores payroll and other ... The Republic

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Google News: UC Regents, UCLA Prof face felony charges in 2008 lab fire

2012-02-13T08:30:00.003-05:00

UC Regents, UCLA Prof face felony charges in 2008 lab fire

Times of India - ‎4 hours ago‎

Sheri suffered extensive burns over nearly half her body when a synthetic sweater she was wearing caught fire and melted onto her skin.

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Google News: UH Fire Jeapordizes School's Financial Documents, Student Loan Records

2012-02-13T08:30:00.001-05:00

UH Fire Jeapordizes School's Financial Documents, Student Loan Records

KITV Honolulu - ‎3 hours ago‎

Fire destroys University of Hawaii at Manoa fiscal office Hawaii News Now

Fire at University of Hawaii destroys building that stores payroll and other ... The Republic

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Dorm fire controlled by fire sprinkler

2011-11-25T10:10:00.001-05:00

A fire in a residence hall at Bloomfield College was controlled by the building's automatic fire sprinkler system. The fire was started by careless disposal of smoking materials on the building's back deck. After the 2000 fire at Seton Hall University that killed three students, New Jersey made sprinklers a mandatory retrofit requirement in all residence halls and Greek housing. You can read more about this incident at http://www.northjersey.com/news/134444378_Chief__College_fire_due_to__smoking_material_.html

Ed Comeau

ecomeau@writer-tech.com

www.writer-tech.com

@campusfirewatch

www.campus-firewatch.com

413-323-6002

Updated information on fatal Bloomington fire

2011-10-03T15:53:00.000-04:00

Updated 10/3/11 3:00 p.m. Eastern

Freshman killed in off-campus fire at Indiana University - Bloomington

First campus-related fire death of the 2011-2012 academic year

A fire in an off-campus apartment complex claimed the life of Renee Orhn, 19, according to an official from Indiana University - Bloomington (note correction on spelling of victim's name). Ms. Orhn was a freshman from Gary, Indiana and had not declared a major yet. According to a spokesperson from the Bloomington Fire Department the fire was reported at 3:37 a.m. on Saturday, October 1 in the Terra Trace apartments at 321 East 14th Street, a three-story apartment building. Fire personnel encountered heavy smoke and fire upon arrival coming from the second and third stories on the north side of the building.

The fire originated in an apartment on the second floor, northeast corner. The victim was found in an apartment on the third floor on the southwest section, remote from the fire.

The cause of death was smoke inhalation. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Four people were injured, including a police officer and a fire fighter. All were transported, treated and released. Eight people were rescued from balconies or windows by fire fighters.

Three units were heavily damaged by the fire, one had heavy smoke damage. Minor heat and smoke damage in the remaining units.

The 3-story building (two above grade, one partially below grade) building was constructed in 1972. It has 12 apartments, is unsprinklered, with a manual fire alarm system. There are interconnected smoke detectors within the apartment units themselves. The building is not equipped with an automatic fire sprinkler system.

This is the first campus-related fire death in the 2011-2012 academic year. Since January 2000, Campus Firewatch has documented 147 campus-related fire deaths with 85% of them occurring in off-campus housing, where approximately 2/3 of the students across the nation live. The past three years have seen a definite downward trend in fire deaths from a high of 20 in 2006-2007 to 6 in 2008-2009; 5 in 2009-2010; and 6 in 2010-2011.

Common factors seen in a number of these fires include:

Missing or disabled smoke alarms
Lack of automatic fire sprinklers
Careless disposal of smoking materials
Impaired judgment from alcohol leading to ignition or inability to escape the fire
Upholstered furniture on porches or decks contributing to the fire

Information on campus-related fire fatalities available from Campus Firewatch include:

Information Sheet (statistics compiled in a two-page summary)
Map of campus-related fire deaths identified since 2000 by Campus Firewatch
Listing of campus-related fatal fires identified since 2000 by Campus Firewatch

Freshman killed in off-campus fire at Indiana University - Bloomington

2011-10-03T08:29:00.001-04:00

First campus-related fire death of the 2011-2012 academic year

BELCHERTOWN, Mass., October 2, 2011 – A fire in an off-campus apartment complex claimed the life of Renee Orhn, 19, according to an official from Indiana University - Bloomington. Ms. Orhn was a freshman from Gary, Indiana and had not declared a major yet.

According to a spokesperson from the Bloomington Fire Department the fire was reported at 3:37 a.m. on Saturday, October 1 in the Terra Trace apartments at 321 East 14^th Street, a three-story apartment building. More information will be released at a press conference on Monday afternoon.

Common factors seen in a number of these fires include:

Missing or disabled smoke alarms
Lack of automatic fire sprinklers
Careless disposal of smoking materials
Impaired judgment from alcohol leading to ignition or inability to escape the fire
Upholstered furniture on porches or decks contributing to the fire

More information on campus fire safety, including a listing of fatal fires since 2000 and an Information Sheet, can be found at www.campus-firewatch.com on the RESOURCE page.