Source: The Brock Press

University is all about learning lessons. For about 1,500 new Brock students, their first lesson came just a few hours after moving in on Sept. 7.

As part of a new fire safety awareness initiative, students gathered in the Lowenberger parking lot as a mock dorm room was set ablaze to illustrate how fast a fire can spread in residence.

Organizers dropped a single lit match into a garbage can, and within seconds, the room and all its contents were reduced to ashes. Grimsby Fire Chief Christopher Halliday said that it is important to educate students in a different way.

"This is very in-your-face," he said. "We need to get our message across with this age group - college and university students."

The burn of the mock residence room was part of the launch of a new fire awareness Web site called knowfire.ca. The site is the result of a joint effort between the Niagara Regional Fire Chiefs Association, Brock University and Niagara College.

"This is a culmination of about eight or nine months of work, and we're trying to kick it off when all of these kids are here," said Halliday. "This is our target market."

Read the full article at The Brock Press.