Very shortly, many college students will be on their way to college. Some will be living on campus or in off-campus housing.  So, here are some safety tips that students should be aware of.  All students should review these tips and parents, please share these tips with your child before he or she heads off to college this year.

• Have an escape plan. Learn where all the exits are to make a faster escape in a fire emergency.  On campus, there should be a plan in place already. If you don’t know what it is, the Public Safety Office should be able to tell you. If this information is not readily available or you are living off campus, take a few minutes to walk around and do your own pre-plan.
• Know how to make a notification of a fire emergency .  Find out where alarm pull boxes are and what number to call to report a fire.
• If the alarm sounds, leave immediately and close the door behind you. Remember to take your keys should you have to re-enter the room if your escape route is blocked with fire or smoke.
• Don’t hang anything from sprinkler heads. This could disable or block the flow of water, which is necessary to help contain or extinguish flames.
• Make sure there are working smoke detectors outside and inside your sleeping quarters. Test monthly. Never disable a smoke detector or the fire alarm. These are installed to give warning to you and your neighbors so you can quickly exit should smoke or fire be detected.
• Only use fire extinguisher for emergencies. They are there for you to use should you have to put out a small, contained fire.  Don’t waste this equipment on a midnight water fight!  For an extra level of safety, keep an ABC extinguisher in your room and learn how to use it.  They are labeled with simple instructions.

Know how to escape:

• If you have to escape through smoke, get low and get to the nearest exit. The cleanest air is close to the ground.
• Before opening a door, feel the door with the back of your hand. If it’s hot, don’t open it. Find a second way out.
• If you are trapped in your room, seal your door with towels, rags, or clothing so that smoke cannot enter from the hall.
• Get out and stay out.  No textbook, homework assignment, laptop, cell phone or wallet is worth going back for.  You were lucky to get out safely once. You might not be as lucky a second time.

Article provided by, Wendy Liu. Wendy is a mother, and also the Public Information Officer for the Sayville Fire Department who also enjoys spending time volunteering within the community. To learn more about Wendy and preview her other article, please visit: http://sayville.patch.com/users/wendy-liu/articles.

Images provided by www.google.com/images.

Live Safe Foundation is an Ohio based non-profit organization (501c3), and leading grassroots movement, devoted to making and fire and life safety education, awareness initiatives and life saving tools available on a broad basis to communities, campuses, and institutions in an effort to reduce national fire fatalities and fire losses. Live Safe aims to help finance fire safety education where means are otherwise unavailable. Live Safe is developing and sponsoring programs to help groups find the resources needed to advance individual and community fire safety.

Most people aren’t prepared for a fire. Maybe it’s because they think it will never happen to them or, if it does, they won’t have any trouble getting out safely. In most fires, you’ll have only three to four minutes to escape safely. This is not enough time to devise a plan and make sure everyone in your home knows what to do.

Devising an escape plan now and practicing it with your family can help insure that everyone will get out safely, should you ever have a fire. For most, fires are scary and unfamiliar. By practicing an escape plan, you could help your family react faster and make better choices for their safe escape, even though they may be panicked and frightened.

Image provided by www.firesafety.gov

• Plan two ways out of every room, and include the windows as an option.
• Test the emergency exits, like the windows, to make sure you can open them and remove the screens and storm windows inside.
• Test all smoke alarms monthly to ensure that they work. Replace batteries as needed.
• Make sure everyone understands the escape plan and recognizes the sound of the smoke alarm. If children or others do not readily awaken to the sound of the smoke alarm, or if there are infants or other family members with mobility limitations, make sure that your plan identifies someone to assist them.
• Teach your family to stay low and crawl below the smoke to avoid its poisonous gases. Crawling to the exits is vital as 80% of all fire deaths are caused by smoke inhalation.
• Arrange for a meeting place outside the home. Make sure everyone knows to get out quickly, go to the meeting place, and not return for any reason, not even for pets or a favorite toy.
• Call the fire department from a neighbor’s house or use a cellular phone. Do not stay in a burning building to use a phone.

Do you have a fire safety or EMS question? We welcome your inquiries at fireinfo@wtwp.com.

Guest “Line of Duty” Author: Fire Marshal Alan Perkins, CFPS, Washington Township Fire Department, Dublin, Ohio. For more information, contact: Leslie Dybiec, Public Information Officer Phone: (614) 652-3928 Fax: (614) 766-2507 or ldybiec@wtwp.com.

Images provided by Google and www.firesafety.gov.

Live Safe Foundation is an Ohio based non-profit organization (501c3), and leading grassroots movement, devoted to making fire safety education, awareness initiatives and life saving tools available on a broad basis to communities, campuses, and institutions in an effort to reduce national fire fatalities and fire losses. Live Safe aims to help finance fire safety education where means are otherwise unavailable.  Live Safe is developing and sponsoring programs to help groups find the resources needed to advance individual and community fire safety.