Week to focus on fire escape plan

By Juana Summers

Published Oct. 2, 2007

Fire Prevention Week encourages safety and education.

The Columbia Fire Department and National Fire Protection Association are joining forces to fight fire.

Fire Prevention Week will occur from Oct. 7 to Oct. 13. The week's programming will focus on home fires and knowing an escape plan.

"Many times, when we speak to residents who have experienced a fire in their home, they recall becoming confused and disoriented by the conditions and the severity of the situation," stated Steven Sapp, Battalion Chief for the Columbia Fire Department, in a news release.

A news release from the Columbia Fire Department stated the Columbia Fire Department responded to 424 fires during 2006.

These incidents resulted in nine civilian injuries and two injuries to firefighters, the release stated.

There were no deaths from fires that the Columbia Fire Department responded to.

The news release stated that, according to NFPA research, 3,030 people died in the United States in 2005 from home fires.

According to the Campus Safety and Crime Report, published in accordance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, seven cases of arson were reported to the MU Police Department in 2006, compared to four in both 2004 and 2005.

In a previous interview with The Maneater, MU Police Department Capt. Brian Weimer said the increase in reported incidences of arson on campus were not great enough to be considered a trend.

In April, Gillett and Hudson residence halls were evacuated due to a fire started by a fan motor.

In a news release from the Columbia Fire Department, Sapp stated that the fire caused less than $10,000 in estimated damages.

According to a previous article in The Maneater, the April 22 fire alarm was the fourth alarm in eight days to sound in Gillett residence hall.

A previous alarm in Gillett residence hall on April 17 was in relation to a power outage, but it did not result in a fire.