Fire can spread through a home or apartment faster than the Crimson Tide can score a touchdown, which is why it’s important to always know an escape route.
When a fire starts, you may have as little as two minutes to safely escape a home fire from the time a smoke alarm sounds. You should know two ways out of your home, apartment or residence hall. Be aware of exits, stairwells and the location of fire extinguishers in the buildings you visit frequently.
When you hear a fire alarm sound, don’t wait — leave the building immediately and do not go back inside until you are told it’s safe to do so.
Here are a few other tips to help prevent fires.
- Never leave food unattended while cooking.
- Only plug power strips into wall outlets.
- If you live off campus, make sure your apartment or home has working smoke detectors outside and inside all bedrooms and on each floor.
- Test your smoke alarms monthly.
- Check with apartment management before using a grill.
- Don’t store items such as bicycles in stairwells or pathways.
- Never hang anything from sprinkler heads.
- Do not use open flames such as candles, tiki torches or fireworks on campus.
National Fire Prevention Week is Oct. 9-15. For more fire safety tips, visit the National Fire Protection Association’s website or contact UA’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety at ehs@ua.edu.
Safety Reminder: UA Alert System Test
Weather permitting, the University will test its emergency notification systems, including UA Alerts, the public address system and digital signage, Wednesday, Oct. 5, at 11:55 a.m.