P.O. Box 237 Uniontown, OH 44685-0237 Phone: 216-447-6331 Website: ohiofsc.org

NEWS

September 2007

Ohio Fire Safety Coalition discusses campus fire safety on Clear Channel Communications Network of Radio Stations

During the month of September Clear Channel Communications aired a taped interview with Matthew Kuwatch, executive director of Ohio Fire Safety Coalition (OFSC), on Sunday Magazine with Angela Bellarios of FM 98.1 WKDD.

The interview focused on the current statistics of campus related fires in the United States and Ohio and what precautions can be taken to prevent these fires along with fire deaths and injuries.

The following points were captured in the interview:

• Since January of 2000, 113 people have died in campus-related fires with Ohio having the most with 14. This does not include the countless fire related injuries which in many cases are life altering. The 2006-2007 academic year was the most fatal one on record where there were 20 campus-related fire deaths in this period with 18 of these occurring in off-campus occupancies.
• Fire can strike anywhere, at anytime. The more we are familiar with fire-safe housing, fire prevention and how to protect ourselves if a fire happens, the less of a chance someone will be injured or killed by fire.
• People take fire safety for granted. For those of you who have experienced what fire can do generally you are more safety conscious with fire prevention and what to do if a fire occurs. However, this is not true for most of the 17 million students enrolled in campuses across the country. According to a recent nationwide survey of college students, most of them do NOT know what to do to protect themselves, their friends and roommates if a fire should occur. As a matter of fact, the most common answer to the question “what would you do if your room caught on fire” was “stop, drop and roll.” We have a lot of work to do.
• It is our responsibility to become more knowledgeable and, more importantly, to teach others about fire safety and prevention so that they can protect themselves and carry this knowledge with them after they graduate. Almost 4,000 people die in fires across the nation each year in all occupancies, and most of these fires were preventable. Unfortunately, the general public just does not know how to prevent these tragedies from occurring, but today we have 17 million opportunities across the nation to change that sobering fact.
• According Campus Firewatch, since January of 2000 over 80 percent of campus-related fire fatalities were in off campus housing such as a rented houses or apartments, where about two-thirds of the students live. This compares similarly to the statistics for fire fatalities in general across the country over 80 percent of them occur in the home.
• If a fire occurs, knowing two ways to get out is critical, no matter where you are – in your residence hall, apartment, house, movie theater or restaurant. In addition other actions, such as responding to all alarms and checking a door before opening it can make the difference between life and death.
• By educating students, along with their parents, about fire safety and prevention we hope that these lessons will stay with them when they move off campus as well as a life educating lesson to take throughout the rest of their lives. By making people aware of how to select fire-safe housing, both on- and off-campus, we can reduce the tragic loss of life and injuries that occur each year.
• Some of the things to look for in fire-safe housing include fire and smoke alarms, enough exits and automatic fire sprinklers, both in residence halls and off-campus. Unfortunately, the traveling public staying in hotels often has a higher level of protection than the students attending our schools because many hotels are equipped with fire sprinklers. There has never been a multiple fire death in a properly installed fire sprinkled building. Commercial buildings have been known to have fire sprinklers for decades. However, according to the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition, only about 2% of new homes being built today have residential fire sprinklers. Sprinklers in off-campus housing are even more rare.
• Safety technology evolves. We have seen this in automobiles with air bags, antilock brakes, harness seat belts and much more. The same type of evolution needs to occur in the home with making sure every home has working smoke detection as well as fire sprinklers.
• Fire can strike anywhere at any time. We need to be ready. Being ready means we have taken the right precautions to prevent fire, have the right education on what to do if there is a fire, and being informed to select fire-safe housing that includes the right protection that includes fire sprinklers.

Further information on fire protection and residential fire sprinklers can be obtained through the resource page on www.ohiofsc.org. Click on links to the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition, National Fire Protection Association, and Campus Firewatch for further information.

The Sunday Magazine program is featured on FM 98.1 WKDD, FM 101.7 WHOF, FM 106.9 WRQK, 1350 AM AND 640 AM. These stations cover Northern Ohio and have a combined listener base of over 3 million people.