Campus Fire Safety Month
September is Campus Fire Safety Month and Illinois joins numerous states across the country to raise awareness of fire safety in on and off-campus housing.
The goal of this month is to create educational opportunities for students to learn the importance of fire safety, ultimately leading to the reduced risk for fires and or death related to on and off campus fires. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), September and October are the peak months for fires in dormitory properties, with cooking being the main cause of these fires. Fires most commonly occur during the evening hours. According to data from the Center for Campus Fire Safety, from January 2000 to April 2022, 94 fatal fires have been documented that occurred on a college campus, in Greek housing, or in off-campus housing within three miles of the campus and claimed 134 lives. An astonishing 94 percent of fatal campus fires examined took place in off-campus housing, with 7 fatalities occurring here in Illinois since 2000.