Lombard Fire cautions students on campus fire safety

LOMBARD, Illinois— Each year, college and university students, on and off-campus, experience hundreds of fire-related emergencies nationwide. The Lombard Fire Department would like to remind college students to be aware of fire safety on college campuses as the school year gets ready to begin.

There are several specific causes for fires on college campuses including cooking, intentionally set fires and open flames. Overall, most college-related fires are due to a general lack of knowledge about fire safety and prevention.

According to information compiled by Campus FireWatch, the great majority of student fire deaths occur in off-campus housing that lacks insufficient exits, missing or inoperative smoke alarms and automatic fire sprinklers. Also, use of candles, careless smoking habits and the misuse of alcohol — which impairs judgment and hampers evacuation efforts — contribute to off-campus housing fire deaths.

As the fall semester approaches, colleges and universities are busy preparing for the arrival of new residents to their campus communities. Some will be first year students moving into the residence halls. Other arriving students will be moving off-campus and living on their own, some for the first time.

For most of these students, the last fire safety training they received was in grade school, according to Chuck Riforgiate, Lombard Fire Marshal. “With this new independence comes new responsibilities,” said Riforgiate. “And that includes fire safety,” he added.