FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Gail Minger, Director
Michael H. Minger Foundation
(850) 621-5161
info@mingerfoundation.org
Grant awarded to review model practices to protect disabled students from fire at colleges and
universities across the nation
Niceville, FL., May 23, 2008 — The Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org) announced
today that it was awarded an $85,612 grant by the Department of Homeland Security Fire Prevention and Safety Grant Program to study how colleges and universities protect students with physical and learning disabilities from fire. The goal of this project is to identify model practices being used by campuses regarding fire protection,
housing and evacuation policies and procedures. A steering committee of national experts will be assembled
to guide this year-long project that will result in a report that will be distributed to schools across the country.
“For many years it has been my desire to address the needs of students with cognitive as well as other types of disabilities in relation to evacuations from fire and other catastrophic events,” said Gail Minger, director of the Michael H. Minger Foundation. “My son, Michael, was a college student with such disabilities and it impacted his survival. It is so important that we identify the best practices being used by schools and share this information so that everyone can be protected and prepared.” Michael was killed in an arson fire in a residence hall at Murray
State University on September 18, 1998. Since that time, Mrs. Minger has become a tireless advocate for campus fire safety as a speaker on campuses, a media spokesperson and at conferences across the nation. She was instrumental in the passage of the Michael Minger Act in Kentucky and led a governor’s task force focusing on campus safety in Kentucky.
Working with the Michael H. Minger Foundation will be Ed Comeau, publisher of Campus Firewatch
(www.campus-firewatch.com), the nation’s leading publication focusing on campus fire safety since 2000.
Comeau is a former chief fire investigator for the National Fire Protection Association and has been involved in campus fire safety for almost 30 years. He is the author of the campus fire safety chapter in the NFPA Fire
Protection Handbook, has written for many publications around the globe and has been closely involved in a
number of campus fire safety projects.
The Michael H. Minger Foundation was established in 2005. The purpose of the Foundation is to improve fire
safety standards and enhance fire safety systems on college and university campuses and to educate parents and students and raise awareness of the reality and risk of campus fires. This non-profit organization was founded to honor the life of Michael H. Minger, an outstanding young man, who lost his life in a college dormitory fire.
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PO Box 721, Niceville, FL, 32588 (850) 621-5161
www.mingerfoundation.org | info@mingerfoundation.org