This is a message from the FEMA's US Fire Administration.
>
>Media Contact:             Release No.: 00-018
>Marc Wolfson               Release Date: February 1, 2000
>(USFA 202-646-4600)
>Richard Flaherty
>(CPA 202-661-2170)
>
>AN ESTIMATED 1700 FIRES HIT U.S. COLLEGE CAMPUSES ANNUALLY
>
>WASHINGTON - With an estimated 1700 fires hitting U.S. college campuses
>annually, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through the U.S.
>Fire Administration (USFA) and the College Parents of America (CPA) are
>urging every college community to take time to focus on fire safety.
>
>"The loss of the best and brightest of America's future is unacceptable, "
>said FEMA Director James Lee Witt. "We must work together to prevent any
>future losses."
>
>"Smoke alarms and automatic sprinkler systems have established an
>impressive fire prevention record, particularly in the hospitality
>industry," said USFA Administrator Carrye B. Brown. "Automatic sprinkler
>systems are now commonplace in hotels and motels, where they afford the
>travelling public with a high level of fire safety."
>
>Over 90 percent of the reported fires in college dormitories, classroom
>buildings, fraternities and sororities occurred where smoke alarms were
>present. However, only 27 percent had sprinklers present. Within the
>dormitories, the No. 1 cause of fires is arson or suspected arson. The
>second leading cause of college building fires is cooking, while the third
>leading cause is smoking.
>
>"As part of the college evaluation, parents should make sure there are
>smoke alarms, sprinkler systems, and scheduled drills in their children's
>residential and classroom buildings, stressed Richard M. Flaherty,
>President of College Parents of America.
>
>Parents and students also can contact their campus to view Get Out and
>Stay Alive, which was circulated this past August to colleges around the
>country as a component of USFA's, campus fire safety training kit. The
>USFA video (USFA is a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency)
>and its accompanying training kit are designed to educate college students
>about the importance of day-to-day fire safety and prevention measures in
>residence halls and off-campus housing.
>
>For more information on campus fire safety, visit both the U.S. Fire
>Administration's web site, www.usfa.fema.gov/safety/college.htm and
>College Parents of America's website, www.collegeparents.org and look
>under "Breaking News" for Fire Safety Tips.
>