Home Away From Home: Three Dorm Fire Safety Tips You Should Know To Have A Safe College Living Experience

Dorm fire safety doesn't just mean making sure that the room you're "assigned" to meets all codes and regulations. No, it also means making sure that the building itself meets all codes and regulations required for your safety, the safety of your roommate, the safety of all people staying in the building and all people who work in the dorm.

When you're heading to college and plan on living in a dorm, there's a lot you have to know about dorm fire safety, much more than you would than if you were still living at home or an apartment/house off the campus. It could mean the difference between life and death.

What do you need to do to ensure that your dorm experience is a fire-safe one?

College Dorm Living: 3 Tips To Have A Great, Fire-Safe Dorm Experience

1 - Learn What The Dorm Regulations Are

It's important to learn what the rules and regulations are when it comes to dorm fire safety. After all, there are many things not allowed in the dorm room. For example, dorms tend to frown upon candles, lava lamps, extension cords, incense, etc.

If these things are left alone or are accidently knocked over, they could easily catch a room on fire. Students are also advised not to smoke in their rooms, even if they have an open window that allows the smoke "free". After all, an abandoned cigarette and hot ashes can also result in a fire.

2 - Fire Drills

Fire drills, when you live in a dorm, are the norm… and should be treated as such. Most dorms will have maps that show you where the fire exits are in the building. However, when you're busy with schoolwork or other things, it can be fairly easily to forget where these maps are located.

Fire drills assist residents in learning the various ways out of the building. They allow you to get through the building without panicking so that should the real thing occur, you'll know what to do and not panic then as well. Don't forget that the prime rules during a fire drill are:

• Do not use the elevators
• Move quickly through the stairwell in a calm, orderly manner (you don't want to become injured or trampled during this time)

3 - Don't Endanger The Dorm Lives

Yes, accidents can happen! However, students should not ever meddle with either the sprinkler systems or fire alarms in their building. This is vitally important to know for dorm fire safety. If a fire begins because of a cooking accident and no alarms sound to warn other residents, you are potentially placing yours and everybody else's lives in danger.

If caught messing with any safety equipment, it could result in a significantly heavy fine for you.

When you follow all the college's rules and regulations regarding fire safety, you can sleep well at night knowing that you're doing your part to keep everybody safe. Plus, you won't be interrupted in school work because you have to get out quick from an actual fire.

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