Contact: Ed Comeau, Publisher
Campus Firewatch
www.campus-firewatch.com

413-323-6002 (tel)
413-896-5718 (cell)
ecomeau@campus-firewatch.com

Two separate off-campus fires kill three students within less than 24 hours

Ten students across the nation have been killed in fires over 12 days.

BELCHERTOWN, Mass., November 9, 2007 — Yesterday, a fire in an off-campus house in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, claimed the life of Jeffrey R. Dailey, a junior at East Stroudsburg University. Today, an early morning fire claimed the lives of two students from Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York.

This brings the total number of student fire deaths for the 2007-2008 academic year to 12 in only the first four months of the school year. These fires follows the tragic one in Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, that just claimed the lives of seven students from South Carolina University and Clemson University less than two weeks ago.

Campus Firewatch has identified 124 student-related fire deaths across the nation with 83 percent of them occurring 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

These tragedies demonstrate the importance of knowing how to prevent a fire and what to do if one breaks out, not matter where you may be.

A detailed information sheet on campus-related fires and a compilation of the fatal 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.

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