UK Wants Fire Education To Go Past Stop, Drop And Roll
September is National Campus Fire Safety Month so the university’s fire commission and the Lexington Fire Department spent a few hours giving fire safety and prevention tips, passing out t-shirts, letting students walk through their smoke tent and lighting a fire UK’s mobile burn unit.
It took less than 3 minutes for the fire to be full blown. Officials said fires double every 30 seconds in a place like a dorm room.
During the demonstration posters on the wall wilted and springs were left poking through the mattress.
The smoke became an issue within the first minute as black clouds billowed above the burn unit.
"The smoke will kill you before the fire," said Jason Ellis, UK’s assistant fire commissioner.
UK dorm rooms are made of fire-rated material. That means if a fire were raging in the hallway, fire crews have a little more time to get to a student trapped in a room.
They told us a smoke detector will typically go off in 10-15 seconds. When that happens one must get out or call 9-1-1.
Officials said they are worried fire safety education often stops at "stop, drop and roll."
"I wouldn’t be prepared. I’d have to think about it. I don’t know what to grab or do," said Caroline Short, dorm resident.
Ellis also said sometimes in a college-setting students get used to false alarms.
"Last year there were 353 false alarms on campus. The fire department responded and some people ignored them," said Ellis. "If it’s real, by the time you realize it, it will be too late."
Fire officials said UK students are lucky; they have two fire stations on either side of campus. Their average response time is 4-5 minutes.
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