by California Casualty | Firefighters, Safety |
Do you have (or are you yourself) a student going away to school this fall?
(awww…)
The lists of things to remember to do before leaving home is immense: dorm necessities, vaccinations, class registrations… the list goes on and on.
In all the chaos and excitement, it’s hard to remember everything.
But the Los Angeles Fire Department came out with an important reminder this month: Prepare for the possibility of a fire in university housing.
Just like you have fire plans at home, at school, and at work, you also need one for Campus Housing.
Think it will never happen at your school?
155 people have died in campus-related fires since January 2000.
The National Fire Protection Association says fire departments responded to an average of 3,840 structure fires in dorms, fraternities, sororities and barracks between 2005-2009. Every year (on average), fires caused:
- 3 civilian deaths
- 28 civilian fire injuries
- $20.9 million in direct property damage
So what can YOU do to keep yourself or your child safe while they’re away?
1. Identify fire risks. 81% of reported fires involved cooking equipment
2. Know the Common Factors in Housing Fires: (source)
- Fires in campus housing are most common between the hours of 5 and 11 p.m.
- Lack of automatic fire sprinklers
- Missing or disabled smoke alarms
- Careless disposal of smoke materials
- Impaired judgment
- Fires originating on upholstered furniture on decks or porches
3. Follow these Tips: (source)
- Look for fully sprinklered housing
- Make sure your housing unit has smoke alarms inside each bedroom, outside every sleeping area and on each level
- Confirm that smoke alarms are tested at least monthly
- Never remove batteries or disable alarms
- Learn building evacuation plans and have a copy on hand BY the door. No organized plan? Make sure YOU have a fire escape plan with two ways out of every room
- Cook only where permitted
- Cook only when alert and not sleepy or drowsy
- Different states have different restrictions for use of BBQ grills, fire pits and chimeneas. Check with your local fire department before using these items- especially if you moved from out-of-state!
- Check with school rules on electrical appliances in your room
- Use the right surge protectors for your computers or electronics and make sure the protector is plugged directly into an outlet
4. Ask these Questions when you arrive at school or drop your student off there
We know this is a busy time for everyone. There’s a lot of excitement and preparation that goes into starting a new semester at school. But please be sure to take FIRE SAFETY into account. It’s a real risk that is too often forgotten, which can lead to deadly consequences.
Additional resources:
by California Casualty | Educators, Firefighters |
Here at California Casualty, we care about
the fun stuff.
We know auto and home insurance isn’t anybody’s absolute favorite thing to talk about. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have some fun around here. For me, the most entertaining part of my job is…
announcing the winners of our giveaways!
No matter what we are giving away, no matter who wins, no matter where they live… it’s always a blast.
They’re also excited.
They’re always surprised.
And they’re always so grateful.
(Which is slightly ironic, considering our giveaways reward people who truly deserve it and are our way of saying thanks to them.)
We’ve recently announced the winners of TWO giveaways: Our “Work Hard, Play Hard” Polaris ATV and Our School Lounge Makeover.
The winner of our Polaris ATV is a very deserving volunteer paramedic and EMS instructor named Ellie Piatt of Huber Heights, Ohio.
Congratulations, Ellie!
When we headed to Ohio to surprise Ellie at a department meeting, we learned she’d never even so much as sat on an ATV before! But that didn’t seem to curb her excitement. Ellie says she plans to use the $10,000 ATV to help her Bethel Township Fire Department better help the community.
Ellie, The Bethel Township Fire Department, and member of the California Casualty team all posing with the Polaris ATV
An extremely selfless volunteer paramedic!? I guess we shouldn’t have been surprised. But the genuine bigheartedness of the people we work with is always the biggest reminder of why we work so hard to protect these American Heroes.
Congratulations, Ellie, and thanks for continuing to volunteer your time, talents, and treasures to your community.
As if that wasn’t rewarding enough…
We also revealed our most recently completed School Lounge Makeover!
This time, we had the pleasure of working with EON Designs to remodel the Teachers Lounge at Tusky Valley High School. (Tusky Valley is also in Ohio, what a coincidence!)
I had the pleasure of going out to TVHS in May to help surprise our winning teacher.
Kelly Gulling is a highly regarded and much beloved Chemistry and Physics teacher.
Congratulations, Kelly!
For the last 3 months, the EON Design team has been working hard to give the TVHS Teaching Team the Teachers Lounge they deserve. One with chairs that don’t break when you sit in them, enough space for everyone to enjoy the space, and a decor that is relaxing and soothing.
So here’s what the lounge looked like before the School Lounge Makeover…
On Tuesday, we revealed the newly made-over TVHS School Lounge!
Are you ready for this?!…
Doesn’t it look fantastic!? I really love the color…
And here’s Kelly, our winner, in the Lounge with her local Union President (far left) and the Principal at TVHS (far right).
I can’t tell you guys how great it was to see the Before and After of this School Lounge Makeover. The entire community at Tusky Valley High School was a pleasure to meet!
We hope you guys have a rockin new school year in your new lounge! Thanks for letting us get to know your community and reward your educators for everything they do.
