Campus Fire Safety

The Division Chief for Fond du Lac Fire and Rescue recommends making sure your son or daughter take some precautions to be safe from fires if they are living in a dorm or apartment building at college this fall. Troy Haase says a dormitory or apartment building may be equipped with smoke detectors, but it is a good idea to have one in the room they are staying in. He says to make sure the smoke detectors are working and if you have your own test it too. He attended a conference where two survivors of a fire at Seaton Hall advised a way of being certain how far your kid is from the nearest exit. He says to have them count how many doors it is from the exit both on the left and right. He says if there is a fire the smoke from it can reduce visibility. Haase also says to have them learn the exits and make plans for a second way out. There were almost 4,000 fires both on and off college campuses last year. Over the past five years more than 100 people have been killed in those types of fires.