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

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

Fire in an off-campus house in Madison, Wisconsin, claims the life of one person

Thirteen people across the nation have been killed in student-related fires this academic year, eleven within the past three weeks.

BELCHERTOWN, Mass., November 19, 2007 — Sunday, a fire claimed the life of Peter Talen, 23, who was visiting the off-campus house of several University of Wisconsin-Madison students. Talen was a student at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse, but had stopped attending last spring, said a university official.

According to Lori Wirth, public information officer with the City of Madison Fire Department, the fire was seen by a passerby who called 911 at 5:35 a.m. Upon arrival, the fire department reported that there was rolling fire on the front porch with extension into the building. Three occupants had escaped and reported that there was still one occupant inside. The victim was found on the floor in the front room in the vicinity of a couch. The three students were hospitalized with burn injuries.

According to Wirth, there were brackets present that would normally hold the smoke alarms, but there were no smoke alarms present in the two-story, wood frame house.

This brings the total number of student-related fire deaths for the 2007-2008 academic year to 13 in only the first four months of the school year, with eleven occurring in just three weeks.

Campus Firewatch has identified 125 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.

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