Newsgram

 It's National Fire Prevention Week and a good time for college students living away from home to take a few minutes to make sure they are living in a fire-safe environment.  Knowing how to stay safe during the school year is very important and often overlooked.  Statistics show that fires in dormitories and other student housing are more common during the evening hours, between 5-11 p.m. as well as on Saturdays and Sundays.  Below are a few safety tips to protect yourself and others from fire.

• Make sure your dormitory or apartment has smoke alarms inside each bedroom, outside every sleeping area and on each level.  For the best protection, all smoke alarms 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.
• Have available for use a flashlight during a power outage.
• Cook only where it is permitted.
• Stay in the kitchen when cooking.
• Cook only when you are alert, not sleepy or drowsy.
• Use a surge protector for your computer and plug the protector directly into an outlet.
• Do not overload extension cords, power strips or outlets.
• Do not place cords under doors or carpets, and do not pinch them with furniture.
• Irons, hairdryers, curling irons and straighteners should never be left unattended, and should be unplugged when not in use.