College dorm room fire safety

Back to School time means there’s a higher chance for dorm room fires; college students need to think about fire safety. Many live off campus in converted rooms so they need to make sure when cooking to watch and stay in the kitchen area with their food.  The old saying, "A watched pot never boils is true, but a watched pot also never catches fire either," says Pasco Community Risk Reduction Specialist Ben Sheare. "Roughly six out of seven fires in dormitories are started by cooking; students start heating something up, get distracted or fall asleep and forget the grill cheese they're frying...next thing you know, it’s burned up and causing smoke throughout the dorm."

When choosing housing, look for fully sprinklered buildings on or off-campus. Make sure you can hear the building alarm system from your dorm room. If you smoke, smoke outside and only where it is permitted, and use sturdy, deep, non-tip ashtrays. Don’t smoke in bed or when you’ve been drinking or are drowsy. Fires in dormitories are more common during the evening hours, between 5–11 pm, and on weekends.

Before using a BBQ grill or fire pit, check the local fire department for any restrictions, along with your school’s rules before plugging in electrical appliances in your room.

Even if students are tired of smoke alarms going off, never remove batteries or disable them, they are required by law 24/7.  For the best protection, all smoke alarms in the dormitory suite should be interconnected so that when one sounds, they all sound. If you live in an apartment or house, make sure smoke alarms are installed in each sleeping room, outside every sleeping area, and on each level of the apartment unit or house.

Be certain that you have two ways to can get out of the sleeping area so you don’t get trapped. Inspect the windows, ladders, and have an escape plan with your roommate prior to a fire emergency, so everyone knows everyone got out alright. When the smoke or fire alarm sounds, get out of the building quickly and stay out.

Everyone wants their room to smell nice, however, a lot of fires are started by scented candles. Instead of burning the real thing, use a fragrant LED candle with a flickering flame, so as not to create a fire hazard. But if you are going to light candles, make sure you blow them out before you leave the room so wind doesn't shut the door and your term paper goes up in smoke from the fire you’ve caused, putting other people in danger.

If you do inadvertently cause a small fire, try to put it out with a nearby fire extinguisher, but be warned that sometimes spraying a fire with one can create a greater flame. A helpful tip is to look at your fire extinguisher, read the directions ahead of time, before you are faced with a fire in your dorm or apartment; if that does occur, stay as calm as possible.

Last but not least, Ben Sheare strongly advises to always keep yourself between the exit and the fire so if the blaze gets out of hand, you have a safe way out.