Smoke Detectors
Smoke alarms in student housing should be tested monthly. Smoke alarms should be installed in every room of the home, including the basements, kitchens, attics, and bedrooms and at the top and bottom of the stairways. Disabling or tampering with a smoke, heat or fire detector will cost you $1,000 if arrested. Failure to evacuate upon activation of an alarm is also a violation in Bloomsburg.

Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Install a UL-listed battery-powered carbon monoxide alarm or AC-powered unit with a battery backup on each floor and near sleeping areas. Detectors are essential when common household appliances such as furnaces or hot-water heaters are fueled by natural gas.

Fire Extinguishers
A fire extinguisher should be within reach in rooms where fires are most likely to start, such as the kitchen, bedroom, and living room and the laundry room. Kitchens should have a fire extinguisher that is UL-rated as 3-A (minimum) to 40-B:C.

Sprinklers
Studies have found that sprinkler systems reduce fire deaths by 82%. Every college student who died in a residence fire since 2000 perished in a building that lacked a sprinkler system.

Electricity
Use UL-listed extension cords and electrical appliances properly. Don’t overload electrical outlets. Does each circuit have sufficient capacity for the electrical needs of todays college students? Never piggyback power strips. Don’t use halogen lights as they emit extreme heat.

Candles
The two leading causes of candle fires are those that burn too close to flammable materials and those that are left unattended. Never leave candles unattended and extinguish them before going to bed.

Bedroom with two Escapes
Know two escape paths from every building, from dormitories to houses. A fire ladder may be needed for a second route from a bedroom in an apartment building or a rooming house. Don’t place materials that block escape routes.

Alcohol
Many of the college students who died in fires went to bed intoxicated. When a fire breaks out in the middle of the night, people who have been drinking alcohol are less likely to wake up when a fire alarm sounds and less likely to react accordingly. One study found that young adults ages 18 to 25 took twice as long to wake up to a smoke alarm when their blood alcohol content was .05% or higher. More than one-third of intoxicated study participants never woke up to the sound of a standard fire alarm.

Smoking
Discarded cigarettes are the leading cause of fire deaths in homes across the nation. More than 60% of adults killed or injured in residential fires caused by smoking materials were either asleep or impaired by alcohol when the fire began. Run water over matches and cigarettes before throwing them in the trash. After large gatherings, check cushions on couches and chairs for smoldering cigarettes. Take the trash out before going to bed and discard the trash away from the structure of the home in a metal refuse container.

Arson
Many of the fires that kill college students are intentionally set, often out of mischief. Setting fires is not funny and can have deadly consequences.

Sources of information obtained from USA TODAY, “Alcohol & Fire a Deadly Mix", published August 30, 2006.