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Campus Firewatch Radio: The College Fire Survival Program

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This month on Campus Firewatch Radio, host Ed Comeau talks about the new campus fire safety training program that was just launched by the People’s Burn Foundation: “To Hell and Back: College Fire Survival.”

This program was developed under a DHS Fire Prevention and Safety Grant and was just launched in April and is going to be shipped, free of charge, to every fire department, college and university in the country starting in mid-May. To Hell and Back: College Fire Survival is a video-based training tool developed by a team of subject matter experts from across the nation to provide campus fire safety educators with a much-needed tool to use in delivering training to students.

Joining host Ed Comeau is a panel of experts that were involved in the development and review of To Hell and Back: College Fire Survival:

• Shawn Longerich, director of the People’s Burn Foundation
• Kevin Ply, fire chief, Purdue University
• Dan Jones, fire chief, Chapel Hill Fire Department
• Gail Minger, director, Michael H. Minger Foundation

This program also covers another new program just launched called the Campus Firewatch Media Project. Jointly sponsored by Campus Firewatch, the People’s Burn Foundation and the Michael H. Minger Foundation, this project will provide students with the opportunity to write about campus fire safety and submit their articles for publication in the national newsletter, Campus Firewatch. Each month a new article will be selected by a panel of judges and the student will receive a stipend of $500. More information, including rules and guidelines, can be found on the Campus Firewatch Media Project page.

Related Links

• Campus Firewatch Media Project
• People’s Burn Foundation
• Campus Firewatch
• Podcast: Campus Firewatch Radio: On the Set

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Fire Marshal's Corner: Photoelectric or Ionization Smoke Alarms – Part 2

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This month’s edition of Fire Marshal’s Corner takes us back to the issue of photoelectric versus ionization smoke alarms. Since last month’s show, quite a bit has happened and we need to bring people up-to-date.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) reissued its 2004 report on the effectiveness of smoke alarms. In this revision they had to make deletions to the tables that contained information about the operation of the dual-sensor smoke alarms. It turns out that they were not co-located with the other smoke alarms but were placed further away from the source of the fire, causing them to alarm later than the single-sensor smoke alarms.

Also, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) released a task group report on this subject as well. In addition to the group’s findings there were several dissenting opinions included in the report. Links to both of these reports can be found below on this podcast player page.

One of the dissenting opinions was written by Dr. Don Russell, a Regents professor at Texas A&M, who joins host Ed Comeau to discuss some of the controversial portions of the report and provide us with his thoughts based on his extensive testing of smoke alarms over the past decade.

Dr. William Grosshandler, deputy director of the Building and Fire Research Laboratory at NIST, reviews the testing that was done in 2004 and the methodology that went into putting the experiments together that resulted in the 2004 report.

Wrapping up will be Rodger Reiswig, director of industry relations for SimplexGrinnell. Rodger is going to cover the technology that is involved in the design of photoelectric and ionization smoke alarms so we can have a better understanding of how these devices work.

Related Links
• Special reprint of an article on this subject that is appearing in the February issue of Campus Firewatch
• NFPA Task Force Report including dissenting opinions
• NIST Smoke Alarm Study along with revision history and FAQs
• IAFC Fire and Life Safety Section Position Paper

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Fire Marshal's Corner: Photoelectric or Ionization Smoke Alarms – Which is the Right One?

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Smoke alarms have an unquestioned role in reducing the loss of life and injuries from fire. However, recent information is coming to light about how the two predominant types of smoke alarms, photoelectric and ionization, react to different fire scenarios. Television stations across the country are conducting demonstration burns to measure the response time of the different smoke alarms with some troubling results. The National Institute of Standards and Technology recently published a report that clearly indicates photoelectric react quicker to smoldering fires and ionization smoke alarms react faster to flaming fires.

Joining us is Firefighter Matthew Cetin from the Barre City, VT, Fire Department. A tragic fire claimed five lives, but what troubled the fire department was the fact that there were working smoke alarms that did not sound during the fire. As a result, they started looking into the issues of the different types of smoke alarms with some interesting results. Following him is Underwriters Laboratories Manager of Consumer Affairs John Drengenberg discussing the role that UL has and their position on the issue. Chris Dubay, vice president of Codes and Standards from the National Fire Protection Association talked with us about the efforts that NFPA has underway to look into the controversy. Finishing up is New Hampshire Fire Marshal Bill Degnan talking about the concerns that he and his peers have about this issue and what they are doing in response.

After this show was taped, NIST informed me that based on the inquiries I made regarding the reported poor performance of the dual-sensor smoke alarms in comparison to the stand-alone smoke alarms, that data was being removed from the report. It turns out that the dual-sensor smoke alarms were not co-located with the single-sensor smoke alarms which is the reason for dramatically different results.

Related links
• Special reprint of an article on this subject that is appearing in the February issue of Campus Firewatch
• NFPA Task Force Report
• NIST Smoke Alarm Study
• IAFC Fire and Life Safety Section Position Paper
• National Fire Protection Association
• Underwriters Laboratories
• The Fire That Changed Everything - And What is Being Done by Matthew Cetin and Russell Ashe

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Campus Firewatch Radio: December 2007

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This month on Campus Firewatch Radio, host Ed Comeau talks with Battalion Chief Steven Sapp from the Columbia, MO, Fire Department, home to the University of Missouri. In 1999 there was a devastating fire in a fraternity that claimed the life of Dominic Passantino. Steve and his colleagues have been working on trying to get a mandatory retrofit sprinkler ordinance in place following this fire, and recently they were able to get one passed by the city council. But than the Greek community launched a campaign to overturn this ordinance, and Steve is here to join us to talk about what they are doing to try and counter this effort.

We are then joined by Dr. Doug Sullivan-Gonzalez, dean of the Honors College, from the University of Mississippi which had a fire that killed three students in a fraternity in 2004. Alcohol is a factor in so many of the fires we see across the country, and many schools are taking efforts to try and combat this problem. The university assembled a task force to look at this problem, and Doug, who is also a firefighter, is going to discuss the findings of the task force.

Wrapping up the show is Dr. Carol Hagans, director of Counseling and Consultation Services at Butler University in Indiana is going to talk about what makes today’s students “tick.” The Millennial Generation, as they are known, are a complex group and reaching them with fire safety messages is something that requires creativity and a radically different approach than what we have done in the past.

Please send any suggestions, questions or comments, to: podcast@firehouse.com.

Related Links
• University of Mississippi Alcohol Task Force Report
• Millennial student information
• Campus Firewatch

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Campus Firewatch Radio: On the Set

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The People’s Burn Foundation was awarded a DHS Fire Prevention and Safety Grant to develop a cutting-edge campus fire safety training program. A team of experts from across the nation was assembled to help guide the development of this program, and a key component that was selected was producing a compelling video that will draw in today’s “Youtube” generation.

A cast and crew of over 60 people spent a week in Indianapolis shooting this production. On this edition of Campus Firewatch Radio, host Ed Comeau will help us learn more about the project, called “To Hell and Back, The College Years,” from:

Shawn Longerich, executive director of the People’s Burn Foundation; Dan Jones, fire chief from Chapel Hill, NC; and Kindari O’Connor, director and screenplay writer from MediaSauce.

Pilot Sites are Needed!

A key part of this project is pilot site testing during January and we are looking for 50 schools or communities across the country to serve as pilot sites for this program. All of the material will be provided along with full instructions on how to do the pilot site testing program. If you are interested, contact the People’s Burn Foundation at gnewport@peoplesburnfoundation.org or (877) 814-2024.

Please send any suggestions, questions or comments, to: podcast@firehouse.com.

Related Links

• The People’s Burn Foundation
• “To Hell and Back, The College Years”
• Campus Firewatch

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Campus Firewatch: Summer 2007

[55:54m]

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Hosted by Ed Comeau

Join Campus Firewatch Radio host Ed Comeau as he looks at several issues related to fire safety on Campuses throughout the U.S. He starts with Jennifer Nelson from Seton Hall University. Jennifer was a student at Seton Hall, living in Boland Hall the night a fire that claimed the lives of three freshmen broke out. This fire had such an impact on her that she became an RA and stayed on in Boland Hall as a professional residential staff member after graduating. She has developed a series of fire safety programs and shares her experiences with us.

Next comes Chris Jelenewicz with the Society of Fire Protection Engineers with a great overview on the value of incorporating a fire protection engineer in your campus projects and how this expertise will help you make sure your fast-tracked projects are completed on time (and on budget!).

This show is wrapped up with Barbara Spalding from Wesleyan University, in Connecticut, talking about how they provide fire protection to students living in over 120 wood-frame one- and two-family homes.

Related Links:

Seton Hall University Fire
• Jennifer Nelson
• New Jersey Star Ledger Special Report

Fire Protection Engineering
• Society of Fire Protection Engineers
• Chris Jelenewicz, engineering program manager

Case Study: Wesleyan University
• Wesleyan University
Barbara Spalding, associate director, campus fire safety

Campus Firewatch
Campus Firewatch
• Ed Comeau

If you have suggestions, questions or comments, please e-mail them to: podcast@firehouse.com

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Campus Firewatch Radio: Fire Behavior in Dormitories

[59:40m]

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Hosted by Ed Comeau

Host Ed Comeau begins this edition of Campus Firewatch Radio with Dan Madrzykowski from the National Institute of Standards and Technology to find out what they’ve learned about fire behavior in dormitories.

Also, Dayna Hilton, a firefighter in Johnson County Rural Fire District #1 in Arkansas, joined us at the NFPA show in Bostonto tell us how she got a Fire Corps program started at a local college. The students have taken fire prevention to a new level.

Mike Halligan, an official with the Center for Campus Fire Safety, provides us with an overview of the Fire Prevention and Safety Grant they received to provide training to 300 campus officials. Wrapping up the show is Bob Davis, a reporter with USA TODAY, who did an in-depth article on campus fires.

Related links:

NIST
• Impact of Sprinklers on the Fire Hazard in Dormitories: Day Room Fire Experiments (PDF)
• Dorm Sprink/Unsprink. Sprinklered and Non-Sprinklered College Dormitory Room Fires. (PDF)

Fire Corps
• Fire Corps
• Johnson County Rural Fire District #1

Center for Campus Fire Safety
• Center for Campus Fire Safety
• Alcohol and fire a deadly mix

Campus Firewatch
• http://www.campus-firewatch.com/

If you have suggestions, questions or comments, please e-mail them to: podcast@firehouse.com

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Campus Safety for Major Incidents

[47:09m]

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Hosted by Ed Comeau

The tragedy at Virginia Tech is one that has raised awareness among college administrators, local, state and national officials regarding safety on our nation’s campuses. As we take a critical look at how our campuses and communities are prepared for any disaster, it is important to ensure that the changes made are not a “knee jerk” reaction but are ones that are well thought out and are measured.Because these issues are concerns of both campus and community officials, we are combining the May issues of Campus Firewatch Radio and Fire Marshal’s Corner to discuss the common topics. We have brought together a series of speakers to look at three (of many) concerns regarding safety on campuses. Tempe, AZ, Fire Chief Cliff Jones discusses the importance of incident management. Bruce Fraser, of SimplexGrinnell, offers information on mass notification for not only the campus, but the public as well. An incident of this magnitude will require numerous resources and Alan Caldwell of the International Association of Fire Chiefs will discuss interoperability of communications.

All three of these topics are ones of significant concern to any campus and community. They also point out the need to work closely together in developing plans and responses to any disaster, whether it is an active shooter, a fire, a tornado or any significant event.

If you have suggestions, questions or comments, please e-mail them to: podcast@firehouse.com

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Campus Firewatch Radio: Fire & Life Safety on Campus

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Hosted by Ed Comeau

Welcome to the first Campus Firewatch Radio podcast on Radio@Firehouse. Each month, this show will go in depth into some of the most complex issues of campus fire safety and we’ll be talking with experts in the field from across the nation and around the globe. This show is hosted by Ed Comeau, owner of writer-tech.com and publisher of Campus Firewatch.

As we were preparing this show, the tragedy at Virginia Tech struck. The horrific and senseless loss of life is something that will long be remembered and our hearts go out to the families and friends of those that were killed.

This also reminds us all of the importance of being prepared, both personally and as an organization, for any type of emergency, whether it is a fire, a disaster or a tragedy like Virginia Tech. There are so many issues that come into play in a large-scale incident such as incident command, mass notification, EMS, communications and much more. We are going to cover these issues, along with others, in the May Campus Firewatch Radio.

On today’s show we are covering three topics that are very relevant to campuses across the country. Dr. Beth DeRicco, of the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention, will talk about alcohol use and abuse on campuses. Maryland State Fire Marshal Bill Barnard discusses the timely topic of fire safe cigarettes. Dr. Guylene Proulx, of the National Research Council in Canada reviews some current research that talks about the human behavior during fire situations.

Related Links:
Alcohol Use:
• Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention
• Harvard University College Alcohol Study
• The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University
• Alcohol use on campus
Human Behavior in Fires:
• National Research Council Canada
• Campus Firewatch
Others:
• Firesafe Cigarettes
• Campus Firewatch

If you have suggestions, questions or comments, please e-mail them to: podcast@firehouse.com

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