Welcome to the first issue of the Michael H. Minger Memorial Foundation Newsletter!  We are going to be using the newsletter to keep you up to date on what the foundation is working on, the resources we have developed and projects that we are looking towards in the future.

I formed the Michael H. Minger Foundation after my son, Michael, was killed in a residence hall fire in 1998 at Murray State University.  Michael was in his sophomore year, going after a double major in broadcast journalism and vocal performance when he died.  Since that time, the Minger Foundation has been working to raise awareness on campuses about the importance of fire safety through education and the use of automatic fire sprinkler systems, fire alarm systems and smoke alarms.  We have seen some advances, but there is clearly more that needs to be done.

We are grateful that the Minger Foundation has had the opportunity to make campuses safer through a variety of projects that we have launched over the years.  Through two Fire Prevention and Safety Grants, we were able to identify shortcomings in how schools addressed the issue of fire safety for students with disabilities and, as a result, produced a series of educational videos and a guide to help schools in their outreach efforts.  We also produced a series of fire safety posters, with an accompanying guide and an additional collection of educational videos that resident assistants can use in teaching fire safety to students on their floor.

The most recent, and compelling project, is the production of the documentary “9 Fires” that focuses on the aftermath of a series of nine fires that broke out at schools across the nation in a span of three weeks last January and February.  This was quite the project, involving  travel to Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Virginia, Connecticut, Maryland and New York, interviewing families, survivors, university and fire officials in pulling together the stories, what happened in the weeks and months after the fire.  We launched this documentary in Philadelphia in October and it is now available, free of charge, on the Foundation’s web site for anyone to use.  All of this was made possible because of very generous donors, supporting our mission.

We are in the beginning stages of several new projects, and if you are interested in more information or would like to learn more about the Foundation, please visit our web page and watch our Mission Video or drop me a note at gminger@mingerfoundation.org  You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news on campus fire safety.

Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you!

PICTURE OF GAIL HERE

Gail Minger, President

Michael H. Minger Foundation