A.J. Cohen Memorial, Inc. Fire Prevention Program

About the A.J. Cohen Fire Prevention Program

The A.J. Cohen Memorial has partnered with firefighters Mr. Alan Guile and Mr. Randy Miller to develop a fire safety program. The program is geared towards college-bound students and their parents to educate and prepare them for College life. A.J. Cohen Memorial is currently working towards building an infrastructure to enable the program to expand throughout the State of Ohio and beyond.

To expand, we need to build an infrastructure that includes the training of local fire fighters to spread the message through our community.

At present, the State of Ohio has one of the highest-ranking mortality rate of fire-related deaths among college students.  A.J. is part of that shocking statistic and is the reason why this program and its expansion throughout Ohio are so important.

 


College Counselor Testimonial on the A.J. Cohen Memorial Fire Prevention Program

When was the last time your high school students were reminded of fire safety?

The A.J. Cohen Memorial Fire Prevention Program is geared toward college bound students and parents to educate and prepare them for college life. I have visited many college campuses throughout the country and shocked that off campus housing can still be so dangerous! This fire prevention program is both factual and informative. I urge you to incorporate this presentation into your end of the year senior activities.


Respectfully yours,
Maureen A. Ferrell
Director of College Counseling, The Summit Country Day School



College Fire Facts

  • In 1998, the last year for which there are records, the National Fire Protection Association estimates there were 1,400 structural fires in collegiate housing facilities, including fraternities and sororities. 
  • There are four fires a day in collegiate housing but fire suppression technology is present in only 35% of those fires. Fire safety statistics likely underreport the scope of the problem. New York alone has 160 collegiate house fires a year, which suggests there are more than 1,400 such fires nationwide every year.
  • The three leading causes of fire in collegiate housing are ARSON, COOKING and SMOKING!
  • According to the nation's leading insurer of Greek housing, only 8% of all Greek housing facilities are currently protected by a sprinkler system.  Fraternity and sorority housing averages 141 fires per year or 1 every 2.5 days.
  • While smoke or fire alarms are present in 93% of all dormitory fires, fire sprinkler systems are present in only 35% of those same fires.  For every American killed by a hurricane, tornado, flood or earthquake, a fire kills 20.
  • Combining fire sprinklers and smoke detectors enhances an individual's chances of surviving a fire by 97%, compares with just 50% when smoke detectors alone are deployed.
  • According to the U.S. Department of Education, there are approximately 18,000,000 students enrolled in 4,100 colleges and universities across the country. Approximately 2/3 of the students live in off-campus housing.
  • Since January 2000, over 83% of the campus-related fire fatalities (see stats below) across the nation have occurred in off-campus housing.  Four common factors in a number of these fires include:
  1. Lack of automatic sprinklers
  2. Missing or disables smoke alarms
  3. Careless disposal of smoking materials
  4. Impaired judgment from alcohol consumption
  • Annual number of fatalities by Academic Year
    • 2000-2001 17
    • 2001-2002 15
    • 2002-2003 14
    • 2003-2004 12
    • 2004-2005 14
    • 2005-2006 11
    • 2006-2007 20
    • 2007-2008 18
    • 2008-2009  6
    • 2009-2010  5
    • 2010-2011  3

      Statistics Courtesy of Campus Fire Watch 1/25/2011

 

Some questions to ask when visiting a college or university

Q. Are residence halls equipped with an automatic fire sprinkler system? If not, why not?

A. Sprinklers provide that vital first line of defense when it comes to controlling a fire.

 

Q. Does every student's room have a smoke alarm? Does it send a signal to campus security of the fire department?

A. Fire alarm systems will give everyone the warning that there is a fire and it is time to get out.

 

Q. Is the fire department IMMEDIATELY notified whenever ANY fire alarm system is activated?

A. Some schools investigate the alarm first and then notify the fire department. This delay can put more people at risk. The fire department should automatically be notified of ALL alarms.

 

Q. Are smoking, candles and Halogen lamps prohibited in the residence halls?

A. Smoking is a leading cause of fires in residence halls.

 

For additional fire safety tips and games visit: http://www.guardianinsurance.com.au/articlelibrary/ultimate-guide-fire-safety.aspx.

A.J. Cohen Memorial would like to thank Drew for providing this new link.

Fire Safety Games

Fire Safety for Kids

PrimaryGames.com

Scholastic

Smokey Bear

Sparky the Fire Dog Arcade Games

U.S. Fire Administration for Kids

 


A.J. Cohen Memorial Fire Prevention Program News Archive

La Salle High School

St. Xavier High School - WLWT, Channel 5 Cincinnati (04/26/10)

 


College Fires...In the News

University of St. Thomas - (12/11/10)

University of Texas at Austin - (12/07/10)

Frostburg State University - (12/03/10)

Eastern Michigan University - (04/03/10)

Western State College - (01/30/10)

Wheaton College - (01/16/10)

University of North Carolina at Wilmington - (01/01/10)

Grand Valley State University - (05/20/09)

Plattsburgh State College - (02/28/09)

 


If you are interested in bringing the A.J. Cohen Memorial Fire Prevention Program to your school, please contact Sara Lippert (saralippert@ajcohenmemorial.org).