Alcohol and Fire Safety Tips 

• After a party or get-together where alcohol was consumed,

check for smoking materials, especially under cushions.

Chairs and sofas catch on fire easily and burn fast.

• Don’t consume alcohol and cook — you could fall asleep

and cause a devastating fire.

• Make sure a working smoke alarm is installed; it

significantly increases your chances of escaping and

surviving a deadly fire.

In most cases where fire fatalities have occurred on 

college campuses, alcohol was a factor. 

Approximately 25 percent of all campus fire 

fatalities follow a party. 

There is a strong link between alcohol and fire deaths. 

Intoxication impairs judgment and hampers evacuation 

efforts — you may sleep through a smoke alarm or not 

react quickly enough to escape. 

Fires often start because people who are drinking fall 

asleep or are not careful while smoking. Smoking 

combined with alcohol abuse exacerbates the risk of 

fires, fire injuries and fire deaths. 

Visit www.usfa.fema.gov/college 

to learn more. 

U.S. Fire 

Administration 
College arson prevention tips 

• Report suspicious fires or signs of burning, regardless of the size, to

school officials.

• Deny a potential arsonist easy access to fuel for a fire: lock paper

notices displayed along corridors and hallways in protective cases.

• Don’t leave outside doors propped open. Ensure that only students and

authorized guests have access to your dormitory or residential building.

Arson is the second leading cause of campus fires following cooking. 

Over half of campus arson fires are in on-campus residential buildings 

and most of these are set in hallways or corridors. Campus arson often 

starts as a prank but pranks can turn deadly, as all big fires start small. 

There are serious consequences to arson! 

• Life and health consequences, such as death or life-long injury. Setting a

poster on fire outside a classroom and tossing firecrackers under a sleeping

student’s bed are just two examples of recent pranks that killed students.

• Legal consequences, such as imprisonment.

• Academic consequences, such as dismissal

from your college or university.

Think twice before playing a prank that can 

endanger your life and the lives of your friends. 

Visit www.usfa.fema.gov/college 

to learn more. 

U.S. Fire 

Administration 
Candle Fire Safety Tips 

• Make sure candles are in sturdy holders and put out after each use. 

• Never leave a burning candle unattended. 

• Always use a flashlight — not a candle — for emergency lighting. 

• Keep candles at least 12 inches from anything that can burn. 

• Use flameless candles, which are both safe and attractive. 

Candle fires are the fourth leading cause of 

campus fires behind cooking, arson and smoking. 

The U.S. Fire Administration reports that 20 percent of university 

housing fires in bedrooms are started by candles. 

Despite the fact that candles are now banned at most colleges, candles 

remain a key ignition source for campus fires. 

More than half of all candle fires occur when a combustible material is too close 

to the candle, with the most common materials being bedding and curtains. 

Falling asleep was a factor in a quarter of candle fire fatalities — extinguish all 

candles before going to sleep. 

Visit www.usfa.fema.gov/college 

to learn more. 

U.S. Fire 

Administration 
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Cooking Fire Safety Tips 

• Cook only where it is permitted. 

• Never leave cooking unattended. 

• Frying poses the greatest risk — 

never put water on a grease fire 

— put a lid on it.		

• If a fire starts in a microwave, 

keep the door closed, and 

unplug the unit. 

• If you use electric appliances, do 

not overload circuits. 

• Stand by your pan — if you leave 

the kitchen, turn the burner off.

• For an oven fire, turn off the heat, 

and keep the door closed.

• Propane and charcoal barbecue 

grills must only be used outdoors. 

85 percent of university housing fires are 

cooking fires. 

Unattended cooking is by far the leading contributing 

factor in college cooking fires. 

There are more than 3,000 university cooking fires 

each year. 

Microwave popcorn fires are a common occurrence 

with college students. 

Visit www.usfa.fema.gov/college 

to learn more. 

U.S. Fire 

Administration 
Electrical Fire Safety Tips 

• Do not piggyback or plug a power strip of any type 

into another. 

• Do not overload electrical sockets. 

• Never use an extension cord with an appliance — 

plug them directly into wall sockets. 

• Never place anything that can burn over a lamp. 

More than 400 die from electrical home fires annually in the United States. 

Overloaded extension cords, power strips and outlets are one of the leading causes of 

fires in college housing 

Many college students live in older off-campus housing equipped with electrical wiring 

that can’t safely handle the modern power demands from microwave ovens, compact 

refrigerators and personal computers, used by the multiple residents living there. 

Check with your college/university to see which types of appliances are allowed or 

prohibited in residence hall rooms. 

Visit www.usfa.fema.gov/college 

to learn more. 

U.S. Fire 

Administration 
Escape Plan Safety Tips 

• Identify two ways out of every room. 

• Ensure that all windows and doors 

open easily. 

If a Fire Occurs 

• Feel the door; if the door is hot, don’t 

open it. Use your alternate exit. 

• Leave immediately, closing doors 

behind, and knock on other doors 

as you exit. 

• If you must escape through smoke, 

crawl low under the smoke keeping 

your mouth covered. 

• Keep escape routes clear of clutter. 

• Establish an outside meeting place. 

• Have two fire/evacuation drills 

a year. 

• Get out before phoning for help. 

• Once you’re out, stay out! 

• Be the Hero on the Outside 

by providing information to 

firefighters about what/who 

might be inside. 

X

In the last decade, college students have died 

in fires because: 

• There was only one way out of their room, and it 

was blocked by the fire. 

• Exit signs were covered to create ambience. 

• The window used for escape was too small. 

• The path to the door was blocked by boxes, 

bicycles and furniture. 

Take all fire alarms seriously. 

Never ignore a fire alarm. 

Visit www.usfa.fema.gov/college 

to learn more.
 

U.S. Fire 

Administration 
Fire Sprinkler Safety Tips 

• Don’t hang things on or cover fire sprinklers, 

which could affect their ability to work properly. 

• When a smoke alarm sounds or a sprinkler 

activates, immediately evacuate the building to 

the outside. Don’t assume it’s a false alarm. 

• Make sure sprinkler heads are visible and 

accessible. 

• Don’t put heat sources near sprinkler heads, 

such as a toaster oven that emits a lot of heat. 

The combination of working smoke alarms and fire sprinklers 

reduces the likelihood of dying in a fire by more than 82 percent! 

From 2012-2013, thousands of college student deaths were prevented by more than 30 

saves where automatic fire sprinklers extinguished fires at campus residences before they 

could develop into life-threatening incidents. 

Fire sprinkler systems offer the greatest level of fire safety because they control the fire immediately in 

the room of origin, help limit the spread of fire, and often extinguish it before the fire department arrives. 

Visit www.usfa.fema.gov/college 

to learn more. 

U.S. Fire 

Administration 
1. Smoke Alarms and Carbon Monoxide Alarms 

• Are working smoke alarms installed on every level, including the basement? 

• Do you test smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms once a month? 

2. Escape Plans 

• Are there at least two ways out of every room in the house? 

• Do all the windows open, and is the opening large enough for a person 

to escape? 

3. Electrical Safety 

• Do you have any overloaded power strips? 

• Are all appliances plugged directly into wall outlets? 

4. Heating Safety 

• Has the heating equipment been inspected, especially in older properties? 

• Don’t use the furnace room as a storage area. 

5. Automatic Fire Sprinkler System 

• Is a sprinkler system installed and maintained? 

• Does the sprinkler system or fire alarm system send a signal to the local fire 

department and/or campus security? 

X

A working smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm significantly 

increase your chances of surviving a deadly house fire. 

Overloaded extension cords, power strips and outlets are one of 

the leading causes of fires in college housing. 

Heating was the second leading cause of all residential building 

fires following cooking. 

The combination of working smoke alarms and fire sprinklers 

reduces the likelihood of dying in a fire by more than 82 percent. 

Visit www.usfa.fema.gov/college to learn more.
	

U.S. Fire 

Administration 
Heating Fire Safety Tips 

• Keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet from all heat sources 

including fireplaces, wood stoves, radiators, space heaters or candles. 

• Turn space heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.
	

• Plug portable heaters directly into wall outlets; don’t use extension 

cords or power strips. 

• Use portable heaters with an automatic shut-off when tipped over. 

• Never use an oven to heat your home or apartment. 

Five collegians have died from heating related 

fires in the last seven years. These fires 

include the improper use of space heaters, 

ovens and fireplaces. 

Space heaters cause one-third of home heating 

fires and four out of five home heating fire deaths. 

Heating is the second leading cause of all 

residential building fires following cooking. 

Visit www.usfa.fema.gov/college 

to learn more. 

U.S. Fire 

Administration 
Smoking Fire Safety Tips 

• If you smoke, put it out, all the way, every time. 

• Smoke only where it is permitted. 

• Use deep, sturdy ashtrays. 

• Soak smoking materials in water before throwing them away. 

• After a party, check under cushions for smoking materials — 

furniture burns fast. 

• If you are sleepy, don’t smoke — smoking in bed is dangerous. 

• If you’ve been drinking or are impaired — don’t smoke. 

Fires caused by careless smoking result in more 

collegiate fatalities than any other ignition source. 

Most smoking-related fires begin when someone 

abandons or improperly disposes of smoking materials. 

Nearly three-fourths of people who die in smoking 

related fires were killed by fires that started in either 

upholstered furniture or a mattress. 

Most fires caused by smoking materials start inside — 

it’s better and safer to smoke outside. 

Visit www.usfa.fema.gov/college 

to learn more. 

U.S. Fire 

Administration