Fire Safety Comes to Plattsburgh

Fire safety day at Plattsburgh State University College is
a small step in teaching the city about how to prevent a fire

Story by Melissa Golio
Photos Courtesy of Jared Semerad

Liberty Mutual's 2006 Fire Census showed that in 2005 nearly 3,000 people died due to a fire in the home. Also according to this census, seven million Americans do not own smoke alarms, 37 million do not own fire extinguishers, and 50 million do not have a fire escape plan. The lack of knowledge about fire safety is the reason for these kinds of statistics.

In Plattsburgh, during 2005-2006, fire safety seemed to be a large issue within the city. Several of the Plattsburgh State University College off campus houses were victim to arson. The Chinese restaurant Jade and Family Dollar were both devastated by fires which caused the buildings to burn to the ground during the summer months. Following these events, Domenic's Restaurant burned down at the beginning of the 2006 school year. These destructive fires raised concerns throughout Plattsburgh.

"It's good that the fire department is taking time to do events like Fire Safety."

Fire safety as well as fire prevention has become one of the top priorities in Plattsburgh, because of the recent cases of arson. The Plattsburgh Fire Department has started the new school year off by spending an entire week going through buildings looking for fire hazards and making sure all fire safety precautions have been taken.

According to Robert Howe, the assistant State Fire Marshall, the most important safety precautions to take are to make sure your house or dorm room are equipped with a smoke alarm, to make a plan of action in case of a fire as well as what to do if the alarm goes off, and to think about ways to prevent fires. For instance, having the heating system inspected in the fall.

Liberty Mutual and the International Association of Fire Firefighters (IAFF) have created a list of other safety precautions. For example, testing your smoke alarms once a month, buying a fire extinguisher, putting it on a wall and reading the instructions every six months, and never leaving burning candles unattended or buying flammable material. If a fire alarm sounds or you see smoke evacuate the building first and then call the fire department, plan an escape route as well as two ways out of each room, never leave a dryer unattended while it's being used, do not leave a stove or oven on while unattended, do not overload power strips, and turn holiday lights off when your not at home.

"Maybe all this fire awareness will finally get through to some people and prevent a lot of fires from ever taking place."

In order to aware students and residents of Plattsburgh about safety precautions to take in case of a fire, the Plattsburgh Fire Department participated in a Fire Safety Event held on the PSUC campus which was open to the students and residents of the city of Plattsburgh.

A mock residence hall room burn, fire extinguisher training, and a high rise rescue were just some of the things the firefighters did to teach fire safety to those who attended the event. Ashley Lindsey, 20, who was present at the event said, “It's good that the fire department is taking time to do events like Fire Safety Day and taking time to come and look for fire hazards. Maybe all this fire awareness will finally get through to some people and prevent a lot of fires from ever taking place.”

Have you ever experienced a fire?

Fire Statistics

According to the Plattsburgh State University website, in 2004 there was a total of 1 on campus fires and 1 fire at a student residence. In 2005 there were 2 on campus fires and 1 at a student residence.

More findings from the Liberty Mutual and IAFF census are, 85% know that most home fires start in the kitchen, however, 26 percent will admit that they have left food cooking unattended, and 16 percent have even disabled the smoke alarm while cooking. Also, 41 percent have left their homes while clothes were drying in the drier, 32 percent have left holiday lights on when they were not at home, and 12 percent have left candles burning unattended.