On Saturday, September 27, Fire Factor 19 will ignite students’ minds and spur them to action.
One Hundred and Twenty University of Illinois student-leaders from across the campus will gather at the Illinois Fire Service Institute, 11 Gerty Dr. for this Semester’s fire safety / awareness training. During the morning event, students will “escape” from a smoke / fire filled dorm room and practice preventing and surviving fire emergencies. “Surviving Your Next Night Out”, a popular session, focuses on devastating personal campus and nightclub fires. Fire personnel share the importance of understanding personal limitations and responsibilities and document how on-scene leadership averts panic.
Thirty-six states across the America declared September as Campus Fire Safety Month.The State of Illinois also designated it as such and will present a plaque to the Fire Factor committee at 9:30 AM. A live-fire demonstration will focus attention on the importance of fire sprinklers at 9:45 AM (media photo opp).
The Governor’s Office has also declared September 22nd as the “LOOK UP! Pay It Forward” Day in Illinois. “LOOK UP!” was created in 2005 by Kathleen Moritz after her 22-year old son, Tanner Osborn, and two other students, died during an off-campus apartment fire in a Chicago apartment where there were no working smoke detectors. LOOK UP! encourages college students to “look up” and make sure they have a working and properly placed smoke alarm. This year, Office of the State Fire Marshal and LOOK UP! will be working with Fire Factor Committee, the Champaign and Urbana Fire and Neighborhood Services Departments to give free smoke detectors to off-campus housing students as they canvass campus neighborhoods. This will occur between 2pm-4pm following the Fire Factor Academy.
Fire Factor is a collaborative effort of Champaign and Urbana Fire and Neighborhood Services Departments, University of Illinois Housing and Dean’s Office and the Illinois Fire Service Institute.