Campus Fire Safety Information (information from Campus Firewatch, http://www.campus-firewatch.com/infosheet.html. Last updated Wed, April 25, 2007) The following information has been compiled by Campus Firewatch. Please note that much of this information is gathered by monitoring the wire services so the actual number of fatal fires, especially in off-campus occupancies, may be higher. According to information compiled by Campus Firewatch, 80% of the campus-related fire fatalities across the nation since January 2000 have occurred in off-campus housing.  Four common factors in a number of these fires include: Lack of automatic fire sprinklers Missing or disabled smoke alarms Careless disposal of smoking materials Impaired judgment from alcohol consumption Campus-related fire fatalities from January 2000 to March 16, 2007 Off-campus 87 80% Residence Hall   10  9% Greek housing 10 9% Other  1 1% Total 108   Catastrophic, multiple-fatality fires Since January 2000, approximately 12% of the fires have killed 43% of the victims. In other words, a small percentage of the fires, which are classified by Campus Firewatch as catastrophic, multiple-fatality fires, are killing a large number of the victims. Many, but not all, of these fires were off-campus.   Catastrophic, multiple-fatality fires 1/19/00 Seton Hall University 3   5/22/04 Indiana University 3 3/19/00 Bloomsburg University 3   8/27/04 University of Mississippi 3 8/20/00 Berkeley, California 3   4/10/05 Miami University 3 11/2/01 Virginia Commonwealth Univ. 3   6/7/05 Cons. of Recording and Arts 3 2/15/02 Univ. of NC-Greensboro 4   1/13/07 Marshall University 5 4/13/03 Ohio State University 5   2/3/07 MS State Univ.-Meridian 3 9/20/03 Univ. of Minnesota-Twin Cities 3         According to the U.S. Department of Education, there are approximately 17,000,000 students enrolled in 4,100 colleges and universities across the country.  Approximately 2/3 of the students live in off-campus housing.  Annual number of fatalities by academic year 2000-2001 17 2001-2002 14 2002-2003 14 2003-2004 11 2004-2005 14 2005-2006 11 2006-2007 19 Fatal fires 2006-2007 academic year University of Pittsburgh  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1 killed in an off-campus fire Nebraska Wesleyan University Lincoln, Nebraska 1 killed in a fraternity fire University of Missouri – St. Louis St. Louis, Missouri  1 killed in a fraternity fire University of Nebraska – Lincoln Lincoln, Nebraska 2 killed in an off-campus fire Marshall University Huntington, West Virginia 5 killed in an off-campus fire University of Mississippi-Meridian Linwood , Mississippi 3 killed in an off-campus fire Halifax Community College Weldon, North Carolina 1 killed in an off-campus fire Boston University Boston, Massachusetts 2 killed in an off-campus fire Longwood University Farmville, Virginia 2 killed in an off-campus fire Boston University Boston, Massachusetts 1 killed in an off-campus fire Academic year-to-date total   19 Current Legislation in Congress The following bills have been introduced in Congress.  More information is available on Campus Firewatch’s legislation page. Campus Fire Safety Month Resolutions (HRes 95.  Senate bill coming soon) Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know Act (HR 592 and S 354) College Fire Prevention Act (HR 642) Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act (HR 643) Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act (To be introduced)   Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that the University assumes no responsibility for contracts/leases between individuals.  The Off-Campus Housing Resource Center is not responsible or liable for the consequences of any off-campus student housing arrangement.  In addition, Tufts does not endorse or sponsor any of the agencies, services, advertisements, properties or landlords included in this website.  The information is provided only as aids in your housing quest. We welcome any comments and feedback.  © 2003 Tufts University