Baylor Residence Life Personnel To Undergo Fire Training Aug. 14
With less than a week before Baylor University students return for the fall semester, more than 150 residence life personnel will undergo hands-on fire safety training at 8:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 14, in the back parking lot of the Ferrell Center.
Residence hall assistants, custodial personnel, ARAMARK dining services supervisors and others directly connected with residence hall facilities on campus will be trained to use fire extinguishers correctly and then put out an actual fire that trainers can control by height and intensity.
"We teach them the PASS system, which is pull the pin, aim at the fire, squeeze the trigger and sweep the hose back and forth as they walk toward the fire. That keeps the fire from flaming back at them," said Lindsey Jacks, fire and safety specialist at Baylor.
Baylor safety officials say last year's initial training already has proved invaluable. "Last year we had three fires in residence halls that never even reached the smoke detectors because the resident assistants responded quickly and put out the fires using their training with fire extinguishers," Jacks said.
The Waco Fire Department will participate in the training with Central Texas Security and Fire providing extinguishers.
According to the National Fire Protection Association data compiled between 1980 and 1997, there was an estimated annual average of 1,800 structure fires in school, college and university residence halls and fraternity and sorority housing. Those structure fires resulted in an average of one death, 69 injuries and $8.1 million in direct property damage per year.
For more information about the fire training, contact Jacks at 710-6695.