Contact: Ed Comeau, Publisher Campus Firewatch www.campus-firewatch.com 413-323-6002 (tel) 413-896-5718 (cell) ecomeau@campus-firewatch.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

National Campus Fire Safety Month 2010 follows the lowest year ever for campus-related fire deaths

Five people died in the 2009/2010 academic year, continuing a downward trend

BELCHERTOWN, Mass., September 1, 2010 — National Campus Fire Safety Month 2010 starts on September 1 and marks the lowest period since 2000 for campus-related fire deaths.  Five people died in the 2009/2010 academic year, continuing a downward trend.  All of the fatalities occurred in off-campus housing which is where over 80% of the 140 fire deaths since 2000 have occurred.

Source: Campus Firewatch © 2010 More detailed information on the fatal fires is available along with a concise Information Sheet.

“With the tragic exceptions of 2006/2007 and 2007/2008, we are seeing a decline in the number of campus-related fire deaths,” said Ed Comeau, publisher of Campus Firewatch.  “Each fire is a tragedy, but the fact that fire deaths are dropping is welcome news.  While I can’t say for certain what is causing this drop, I have to think it is related to the increased awareness of fire safety by schools, communities, students and parents. I can’t say enough about how much everyone is working to help make their communities and campuses fire-safe.”

In addition to the work being done by fire departments and schools across the country educating students about fire safety there has been a series of activities that have helped to raise awareness.  Starting in 2005, letters co-signed by parents who have lost children in campus-related fires have been sent each year to all 50 governors asking them to issue proclamations for Campus Fire Safety Month in their states.  To date, 28 proclamations have been issued in 2010, bringing the 6-year total to 161 and the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have also passed resolutions recognizing September as National Campus Fire Safety Month. (A list of the states, copies of all of the proclamations issued and the letter co-signed by the parents is available online at www.campus-firewatch.com/stateproc.html.)

Campus fire safety education is on the rise with the availability of new online training programs such as igot2kno (www.igot2kno.org).  Developed by the People’s Burn Foundation under a DHS Fire Prevention and Safety Grant, this free program was re-released in August 2010 with new content and provides schools and communities with unparalleled resources to reach out to students with invaluable fire safety information delivered by educational games and videos.  Campus Firewatch Publisher Ed Comeau assisted in the development of this innovative training tool.

“Teaching today’s students about fire safety is something that isn’t just for the time they are in college,” said Comeau.  “It is a vital step if we are to build a fire-safe generation for the future.  What they learn in college they will need to know for the rest of their lives because, after all, fire safety – it’s part of living.”

Campus Firewatch is a social enterprise focusing on campus fire safety that was started in 2000. For more information, visit our website at www.campus-firewatch.com.
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