How Can I Keep My Kid Safe from Fire While Away at College?

Here's a list of ways to keep your child safe on campus provided by the National Fire Protection Association:

• Look for fully sprinklered housing when choosing a dorm or off-campus house.
• Make sure you can hear the building alarm system when you are in your dorm room.
• If you live in a dormitory, make sure your sleeping room has a smoke alarm, or your dormitory suite has a smoke alarm in each living area as well as the sleeping room. For the best protection, all smoke alarms in the dormitory suite should be interconnected so that when one sounds, they all sound.
• If you live in an apartment or house, make sure smoke alarms are installed in each sleeping room, outside every sleeping area, and on each level of the apartment unit or house. For the best protection, all smoke alarms in the apartment unit or house should be interconnected so that when one sounds, they all sound.
• Test all smoke alarms at least monthly.
• Never remove batteries or disable the alarm.
• Learn your building's evacuation plan and practice all drills as if they were the real thing.
• If you live off campus, have a fire escape plan with two ways out of every room.
• When the smoke alarm or fire alarm sounds, get out of the building quickly and stay out.
• Stay in the kitchen when cooking.
• Cook only when you are alert, not sleepy or drowsy from medicine or alcohol.
• Check with your local fire department for any restrictions before using a barbecue grill, fire pit, or chimney.
• Check your school's rules before using electrical appliances in your room.

• Burn candles only if the school permits their use. 
• A candle is an open flame and should be placed away from anything that can burn.
• Never leave a candle unattended. Blow it out when you leave the room or go to sleep.

• If you smoke, smoke outside and only where it is permitted. 
• Use sturdy, deep, non-tip ashtrays.
• Don't smoke in bed or when you've been drinking or are drowsy.

• Fires are common during the evening hours, between 5-11 p.m., and on weekends.
• Cooking equipment is the cause of about three-quarters of fires, and most fires begin in a kitchen or cooking area.