A demonstration at West Virginia University’s (WVU) campus this September showed that a fire can destroy a dorm room in less than three minutes. The smoke and heat that is produced becomes highly toxic and overbearing in a matter of moments. It is safest to get down and crawl out of a smoke-filled room because, as WVU students observed, the air is cleanest near the ground. “Your body’s not made to breathe smoke, you’re going to start coughing and you’re going to start choking,” says Morgantown Fire Chief Mark Caravasos. “If this smoke has had any heat exposed to it for a while, you’re going to inhale the heat through that smoke. That’s going to cause burns inside of the respiratory system, inside of the lungs.” According to National Fire Protection Association, from 2000 to the present at least 146 students have died in a combination of off-campus, residence hall and fraternity/sorority fires. The ASSE Fire Protection Practice Specialty suggests tips to prevent these fires.
A Blog From the American Society of Safety Engineers
Monday, October 24, 2011
Preventing Campus Fires
A demonstration at West Virginia University’s (WVU) campus this September showed that a fire can destroy a dorm room in less than three minutes. The smoke and heat that is produced becomes highly toxic and overbearing in a matter of moments. It is safest to get down and crawl out of a smoke-filled room because, as WVU students observed, the air is cleanest near the ground. “Your body’s not made to breathe smoke, you’re going to start coughing and you’re going to start choking,” says Morgantown Fire Chief Mark Caravasos. “If this smoke has had any heat exposed to it for a while, you’re going to inhale the heat through that smoke. That’s going to cause burns inside of the respiratory system, inside of the lungs.” According to National Fire Protection Association, from 2000 to the present at least 146 students have died in a combination of off-campus, residence hall and fraternity/sorority fires. The ASSE Fire Protection Practice Specialty suggests tips to prevent these fires.
