Lessons from Delaware's fire prevention programs

A new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy finds that fire and life safety programs in Delaware offer a strategic, comprehensive and coordinated approach to fire prevention. The report, published in the November issue of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, offers recommendations to states and localities across the country looking to improve their fire and life safety activities. (more...)

http://gazette.jhu.edu/2012/03/05/delaware-offers-lessons-for-fire-prevention-programs-nationwide/

Dorm fire: Drake Hall, UW-La Crosse

Early Sunday morning a fire broke out in a basement lounge of Drake Hall at UW-La Crosse. Building residents were roused by the fire alarm, and all residents were successfully evacuated. Residents have been temporarily relocated until Drake Hall has been deemed safe for habitation.

News from the campus

News from the local paper

Reference for federal campus fire safety reporting

The Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting  was recently released by the U.S. Department of Education. Yes, it would've been more useful for you last year when you had to prepare the report. For future reference, chapters 11-14 cover the fire safety requirements of the regulations.

NFPA 1 Fire Code Seminar encore

This summer, Wisconsin Department of Commerce hosted four sessions on the 2009 changes to the NFPA 1 Fire Code. I attended one, and thought it was well done and informative. Due to demand, one more session will be offered on Saturday, January 22, 2011, in Stevens Point at the Holiday Inn and Convention Center, 1001 Amber Ave.  Further details will be announced in mid-September on the Fire Prevention Program website.


Note 9/27/2010: The details for the January session are now available.

Links: 
http://commerce.wi.gov/SB/SB-FirePreventionProgram.html
http://commerce.wi.gov/SB/docs/SB-EducationFirePrevNFPABrochJan2011.pdf

NFPA-1 training

The Wisconsin Department of Commerce, Safety & Buildings Division is presenting four sessions of NFPA-1 Code training in July and August in conjunction with the National Fire Protection Association.


No walk-ins, register by July 8. Offered at four locations: Milwaukee area, Green Bay, Eau Claire, and Richland Center. Only $25 -- a bargain!

See PDF brochure.  


See PDF list of current registrants.

Report on university housing fires

The US Fire Administration recently published a report on university housing fires (fires in college and university residential buildings that include dormitories and fraternity and sorority houses).

A summary of the findings:

• An estimated 3,800 university housing fires occur each year in the United States.
• Eighty-three percent of university housing fires are cooking fires. Small, confined cooking fires account for 77 percent of university housing fires. Cooking fires account for 6 percent of all non-confined university housing fires.
• University housing fires peak in September and October; this peak accounts for 23 percent of fires.
• The three main causes of non-confined university housing fires are intentionally set fires (17 percent), open flames (15 percent), and other unintentional causes (12 percent).
• One-fifth of non-confined university housing fires in bedrooms are started by candles.

http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/tfrs/v10i1.pdf

Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know

Requests about the status of the Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know (RTK) trickle in from our UW System campuses. Campus-Firewatch.com has a comprehensive update that Ed Comeau does a great job with.

A podcast is also available, which goes a bit more into the public safety background of the Clery Act. It's actually two separate interviews, and I think is worth your listening time (over 30 minutes). Here are some of the things I noted:

• Campuses should be making a good faith effort now to put systems in place to collect the data, and begin collecting data.
• Expect that regulations will require formal reporting beginning October 2010.
• Suggests partnering with campus security offices that already have Clery Act reporting requirements.
• There is a lot of agreement to simply add the fire reporting regulatory compliance to the already existing Clery Act reporting system.
• Reporting requirements will only cover on-campus student housing facilities (definition to be determined). There was discussion about collecting all fire-related incidents, even though only the student housing items would be reported.
• Discussion on "popcorn in the microwave" alarms.

And those of you that want to see the progress of the draft rule drafting, the April 7 draft is available here. The first four pages incorporate the reporting into the existing public security sections already required by the Clery Act. The section that is specific to fire safety begins at the bottom of page four.


Links:
http://campus-firewatch.com/reprints/rtkreprint.html
http://www.radiofirehouse.com/broadcast/wp-content/2009/cfw_033009.mp3
http://www.campus-firewatch.com/resources/rtk/rtk%20regs%20040709.pdf

Fire safety pages around the system

As we come to the close of the fall fire drill season, I recently pointed you to the new River Falls web page on fire drill results. Thought that I'd also mention a sampling of the fire safety internet links from other UW campuses. If I missed one that you think needs to be shared, let me know and I'll post it.

Madison has several fire safety links in the sidebar of their general safety page.

Milwaukee has a wealth of both general and campus-specific fire safety links on their page.

Green Bay has a fire safety self-inspection checklist that campus staff could use to evaluate their own work surroundings.

Parkside has pages on their evacuation procedures and a description of safe havens.

Stevens Point has building and res life safety guide links under the Emergency section of their EH&S website.

Stout has links to their procedures and training slides for "How to Report a Fire/ Fire Training."

Superior has a concise page on their emergency procedures, including a link to a tri-fold brochure on fire evacuation (pdf).

Whitewater has links to their fire drill procedures and fire safety policy.

Eau Claire and La Crosse mention their evacuation procedures in their emergency response plans.

River Falls campus feedback on fire drills

Connie Smith at UW-River Falls is using their website to provide feedback to the campus community on their recent fire drills. It includes FAQ's, Fire Safety Basics, and a summary by building.

Higher Education Act

On August 4, 2008, the Higher Education Act passed the House of Representatives and the Senate and is expected to be signed by President Bush shortly. Among the provisions are:

• Under the Clery Act, procedures for emergency response, notification, and evacuation must be tested on an annual basis; however, these tests can be table-top tests or simulations.
• Dropped from the Act’s language is the 30-minute requirement for notification of students, faculty, and staff during emergency situations. Also dropped is the proposed creation of a National Center for Campus Public Safety.
• Colleges and universities will be required to report and track fires that cause personal or property damage.

More information is available at the URMIA website.

NFPA 2009 Code Changes

At the NFPA World Safety Conference & Exposition® in June, the NFPA membership will consider technical changes to 15 codes and standards. Here are significant changes to four of them:

• NFPA 59A, Production, Storage, and Handling of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
• NFPA 70E®, Electrical Safety in the Workplace®
• NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code®
• NFPA 720, Installation of Carbon Monoxide (CO) Warning Equipment in Dwelling Units

NFPA Journal®, May/June 2008