Contact: Ed Comeau, Publisher
Campus Firewatch
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413-323-6002 (tel)
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ecomeau@campus-firewatch.com

Cowley College student dies in off-campus fire in Arkansas City, Kansas

Second fire fatality of the 2007-2008 academic year

BELCHERTOWN, Mass., October 3, 2007 — A fire early yesterday morning in an off-campus house claimed the life of one student from Cowley College. According to Arkansas City Fire Chief Randy Leach, the fire started on the front screened-in porch and when fire crews arrived on the scene the entire front of the house was fully involved. The victim was found inside the front door. Smoke alarms in the building had activated, alerting the occupants to the fire and they were able to escape through the building’s rear stairway and door. The cause has not yet been announced.

This is the second campus-related fire death of the 2007-2008 academic year. Since January 2000, Campus Firewatch has identified 114 campus-related fire deaths across the nation. Over 80 percent of them have occurred in off-campus housing, which is where more than two-thirds of the students live, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Common factors in a number of these fires include:

• Lack of automatic fire sprinkler system
• Missing or disabled smoke alarms
• Careless disposal of smoking materials
• Impaired judgment from alcohol consumption  

The 2006-2007 academic year was the most fatal one on record with 20 fire deaths identified by Campus Firewatch. A detailed information sheet on campus-related fires can be downloaded from the RESOURCE page of Campus Firewatch at www.campus-firewatch.com.

Campus Firewatch, in publication since 2000, is a monthly electronic newsletter focusing on campus fire safety.For more information, visit our website at www.campus-firewatch.com.