Effective training programs for students living in residence halls.

One thing I try to stress to students in all of my fire safety trainings, is
that their safety is largely behaviorally based. College & Universities can
put every possible state of the art detection & suppression system in every
dorm, but if students do not react to these warning & suppression systems,
basically ignore them, they may not be of much help to them. Just like with
crime, your safety is behaviorally based (e.g..-walk in well lit areas, do not
walk alone, etc..)

I conducted a fire safety training last night per a request from an RA. The
dorm in question was a 14 floor high-rise. The RA wanted me to due a "case
study" of the Seton Hall Fire. I went over the numerous newspaper articles
(12) on the Seton fire and stressed the quoted behavior of the students and
what they were up against when they decided to leave the building. I also went
over the article that described the injuries students recieved during the
fire. I also used two videos in this training; "Flashover-Countdown to
Disaster" & "Get Out & Stay Out". These two videos really appear to grab the
attention of the students. As with most of our trainings, I had numerous
handouts that I have collected over the years along with past newspaper
articles of past dorm fires from our campus along with other campuses in the
nation.

At the end of each training I have a Q & A session and I have each student
fill out a post training survey. The survey asks them to critique the training
materials along with the instructor. I usually get great feedback from this
survey which helps me adjust the materials or my presentation techniques
accordingly on the next training.

According to the survey sheets, many students take a whole new outlook on fire
safety and hopefully adjust their behavior accordingly.

Doug Gordner, Life Safety Inspector
Ithaca College Campus Safety
Life Safety Division
Ithaca, New York 14850

(607)-274-1846
(607)-274-1868 (fax)