Students Head to Capitol Hill for National Campus Fire Safety Month™ 2009
Students, Families of Victims Hold All-Day Event Thursday in Nation's Capital
09.15.2009 – BELCHERTOWN, MA – September 15, 2009 – With an estimated 18 million students currently attending colleges and universities nationwide, knowing the steps on how to prevent or escape a fire can be lifesaving. And getting this information into the hands – and into the heads – of students, parents, landlords and school administrators is as critical as ever.
National Campus Fire Safety Month 2009 will be launched in Washington, DC, on September 17, 2009. As part of this launch, college students, fire officials and families of fire victims will meet with more than 40 Congressional offices.
The day kicks off with a media event at 9 a.m. in The Gold Room (Room 2168) at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill with Congressman Bill Pascrell (D-NJ-8), author of the Campus Fire Safety Right to Know legislation along with co-sponsor Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC-2), Edye Smith who lost her son, Stephen, in a 2005 off-campus fire in Ohio, and District of Columbia Fire Chief Dennis Rubin among the speakers. More than 60 students, family members, fire safety advocates and fire officials will also be on hand.
This effort is being led by a coalition of campus fire safety organizations that includes Campus Firewatch, the Ohio Fire Safety Coalition, the Congressional Fire Services Institute and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill along with numerous supporting organizations.
Since January 2000, 134 people have died in campus related fires, according to statistics compiled by Campus Firewatch. Over 80 percent of those deaths were in off campus housing. Four common factors in these deadly fires were a lack of automatic fire sprinklers, missing or disabled smoke alarms, careless disposal of smoking materials and impaired judgment from alcohol consumption.
Now in its fifth year, National Campus Fire Safety Month 2009 has provided an opportunity for schools and communities across the nation during September to educate students about the dangers of fire and their role in creating a fire-safe environment. Serving as the Congressional Co-Sponsors are Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Congressman Bill Pascrell (D-NJ-8), Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), and Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC-2).
“National Campus Fire Safety Month represents a unique opportunity to bring like-minded individuals and students from all across the country who are concerned about campus fire safety to our nation’s Capitol to meet and help educate Members of Congress on this critical issue,” observed Rep. Pascrell. “Their work is crucial as we work to ensure that our college campuses are a safe and secure learning environment for the next generation of American leaders.”
“I am pleased to join with my colleagues in launching National Campus Fire Safety Month,” Sen. Collins added. “Fire safety on America’s college campuses should be a priority and efforts, such as National Campus Fire Safety Month, help raise awareness about this serious and potentially life-threatening issue.”
“The safety of a child is every parent’s number one priority,” said Rep. Wilson. “As a father of four, I am honored to stand with my colleagues in Congress to help promote efforts to educate students, parents, and our school administrators on the importance of fire safety. I am particularly grateful that so many parents and students as well as fire safety advocates and officials have chosen to get involved. Their leadership is vital to the success of our efforts.”
National Campus Fire Safety Month started in 2005 with a handful of states issuing proclamations. It has since grown to 27 states, to date, issuing proclamations for 2009 along with resolutions being passed in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
“The value of National Campus Fire Safety Month comes from everyone joining together, both in Washington and across the nation, to make students, parents, schools and communities aware of the importance of fire safety on our campuses,” said Ed Comeau, publisher of Campus Firewatch. “By working together we can teach students what they need to protect themselves, not only for the time that they are in school but for the rest of their lives. As this year's motto says, ‘Fire Safety – It’s Part of Living.’”
For more information and to schedule media interviews with participants, please contact Michael Rupert at 202-257-5359, via email at michael.rupert@dc.gov or via Twitter at @campusfirewatch.
Campus Firewatch is a social enterprise focusing solely on campus fire safety. For more information, visit our website at www.campus-firewatch.com
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- Press Conference on Thursday, September 17, 2009 on Capitol Hill.
- More than 40 visits scheduled with Congressional offices.
- An estimated 18 million students currently attending colleges and universities nationwide.
- Since January 2000, 134 students have died in campus related fires, according to statistics compiled by Campus Firewatch.
- Four common factors in these deadly fires were a lack of automatic fire sprinklers, missing or disabled smoke alarms, careless disposal of smoking materials and impaired judgment from alcohol consumption.
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