With another school year just around the corner, many students are finalizing their hunt for residence or off-campus housing. As a critical part of that process, a Canadian campus fire safety group says parents should do more to ensure their kids are safe from fire and carbon monoxide threats when they hit the books at university and college.

Knowfire.ca, a one-of-a-kind web site collaboration between Brock University, Niagara College and all fire departments in the Niagara region, was created to inform students and parents about how to avoid, respond to – and escape from – fires that may occur on or off-campus. The collaborative community partnership was inspired by a fire that burned an off-campus rental property to the ground. All five students escaped safely, in part due to a responsible landlord who had installed brand new smoke alarms before school started.

The www.knowfire.ca web site hosts eight professional videos produced by students for students, and their parents. Each targets a different but very real campus fire safety threat. Funds were raised through a unique public/private sector partnership that saw the Niagara regional fire services, Brock University, Niagara College and companies such as Kidde Canada and Duracell support the cause.

“Yes, campus residences typically have fire safety systems, and yes, there are laws outlining the responsibility landlords have in providing fire protection for their tenants,” says Donna Gill, Divisional Chief of Communications for the St. Catharines fire department. “But, no, parents are not being vigilant enough. They need to double-check that all smoke alarms are working. They need to make sure any smoke alarm over 10 years old is replaced. And parents also need to warn their kids about the dangers associated with taking smoke alarms down or removing batteries to quiet false alarms.”

Prevention and school housing officials say the potential for tragedy is very real.

“Think about student life...long hours, cooking, candles, parties, smoking, alcohol,” Inspector Gill says. “The only peace of mind a parent can get is knowing their child is safe. Saying good bye is tough, but never drive away without checking every smoke and CO alarm first.”

She adds, “Sure, you might hear “You're sooo embarrassing!” But it's a small price to pay for knowing your child will have early warning to any fire.”

Campus safety videos can be seen at www.knowfire.ca and more fire protection information is available at www.safeathome.ca.

By: Karena Walker
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It’s all about fighting fire with fire.

So when the St. Catharines fire department sets a dorm room at Brock University ablaze next week, albeit a mock one, it will be doing so with the best of intentions.The exercise is an attempt to drive home a safety message to young people, who aren’t necessarily thinking about stacks of books blocking hallways or frayed extension cords ready to spark when they move out on their own.

“When you’re 18 to 24, you’re invincible,” said St. Catharines Fire Chief Mark Mehlenbacher.The department is hoping to overcome that mentality by directly targeting that age group with a fire safety campaign for the first time.The Niagara program — a partnership of Brock University, Niagara College and fire associations — is the first of its kind in the province.Launched in conjunction with orientation week, it will include a web-based campaign of six two-minute videos showing the impact fire can have. Mehlenbacher said nothing brings home the danger of fire faster than watching something burn.“In one to two minutes, you see how fast the fire has burned and how black the smoke is. In one to two minutes, they’re not getting out of their house. That’s how fast things happen.”The initiative was prompted by a number of fires and close calls involving students on and off Ontario campuses last year.

A building fire at McMaster University left 600 students homeless in October, and a Wilfrid Laurier University student died in April after a residence fire.In St. Catharines last November, five Brock students fled their burning Cumming Street home. The fire, believed to be started by a candle, gutted the house.And this July, a mix of Brock and Niagara College students were burned out of their St. Paul Street apartments after a deliberately set blaze in another unit destroyed several residences. Mehlenbacher said there are fire safety programs for children and older people, but nothing for this age group, many of whom don’t think about smoke detectors.But he said today’s fires burn faster and hotter because of the amount of plastic in homes, including computers and televisions. With plastic burning two to three times hotter than wood, people have less time to escape a fire than they did in previous decades.

On Monday night, a three-sided structure filled with furniture and accessories to look like a dorm room will be burned in a campus parking lot. Plexiglass will then be installed in place of the missing wall and the room will be put on display at Brock’s vendor and club fair.The eye-catching display will launch the local video campaign being unveiled Tuesday at www.knowfire.ca. The videos were made over the summer using firefighters and actors.The program is sponsored by Niagara College, Brock University, the Niagara Regional Fire Chiefs Association and the Ontario Municipal Fire Prevention Officers Association.“Fire safety is paramount in terms of education and information we want to share with them,” said Brigitte Chicki, director of student services at Niagara College.Brad Clarke, manager of student and community outreach at Brock, said it’s vital to ensure fire safety is at the forefront of students’ minds.

Clarke said the campaign’s goal is to reinforce that awareness and show students how to prevent life-threatening situations from occurring.Donna Gill, from the St. Catharines fire prevention office, said the campaign targets not just students, but all young people living away from home in that age bracket. She said the videos aren’t preachy.“This is what the reality is, and here’s how you can avert that tragedy,” she said.“We know they’re going to party. Make sure your ways are clear, make sure the music isn’t too loud so you can hear a smoke alarm go off.”

By: Karena Walker

The major partners of the newly developed knowfire.ca fire safety project for 18-24 year olds will be hosting a viewing of the six knowfire.ca videos. We are pleased to announce that the Ontario Fire Marshal, Patrick Burke will be in attendance tomorrow and available for comments. Spokespersons for the partners will also be available for interviews.

Date: Friday, September 4, 2009
Time: 11:15 a.m.

Location: FourGrounds Media office/production facility at nGen, located at 1 St. Paul Street in downtown St. Catharines. It is co-located with the St. Catharines and Area Small Business Enterprise Centre at the corner of St. Paul St and Ontario Street.

The partners of the program (Brock University, Niagara College, the Niagara Regional Fire Chief’s Association and the Ontario Municipal Fire Prevention Officers Association- Niagara Chapter) would like also like to extend an invitation to the media for the official launch of the knowfire.ca website. Niagara Fire Chiefs as well as representatives from Brock University and Niagara College will be on site for interviews and a dorm burn cell will be placed in the courtyard for pictures at the Orientation Week Vendors Fair.