Fire Service visit INTO Exeter University
In September the population of Exeter increased with the arrival of its 17,000 university students. For Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service students involved in college and university communities have being identified as a high risk group by their Targeting and Evaluation team.
The Central East Group Support Team have made communicating with the students a priority to raise awareness and reduce the number of accidental dwelling fires in university halls of residence and shared student rented accommodation.
Members of the group support team visited the new INTO building, a purpose-built development for international students from Europe, Asia, Africa and Middle East. Here they provided fire safety information on a wide range of areas, focussing on kitchen and cooking safety and distributing the new ‘Fire safety for Students’ leaflets.
Gareth Sydenham, Watch Manager said: “I found the students really receptive to fire safety information and they showed a lot of interest in the specific student advice. We have planned further visits to other areas of the University in the near future.”
Top advice Do you know that you are more than twice as likely to die in a fire if you don’t have a working smoke alarm? Ensure that all smoke alarms provided are in working order and regularly tested, this will alert you and your housemates to the earliest stage of a fire giving you vital extra time to escape.
Cooking late at night? Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service are very keen to discourage students from cooking when returning home after a night out. More fires start in the kitchen than in any other room in the house and cooking while under the influence of alcohol puts you and your housemates, at a higher risk from fire.
More tips ensuring you stay safe from fire in your home: • Follow a good fire safe bedtime routine and check that everyone is clear on a fire escape plan • Take extra care with cigarettes and smoking materials and never smoke in bed – when a cigarette is finished, put it out, right out! • Never leave candles or tea lights unattended and ensure that they are put in safe holders • Switch off electrical appliances when not in use, unless they’re designed to stay on – like a freezer • Check furniture has the fire-resistant permanent label • If a fire starts get out, stay out and call 999.
