Student from West Virginia University installing a smoke alarm in Morgantown, WV

Student from West Virginia University installing a smoke alarm in Morgantown, WV

In a recent study looking at fire safety awareness among students, fire safety was not a high priority (no surprise, really!). What was interesting was that when these students realized they had a gap in what they know about how to protect themselves from fire, they wanted to know more! The challenge is giving them this information in a way that they will remember.

The Minger Foundation was awarded a Fire Prevention and Safety Grant by the Department of Homeland Security to create a campus fire safety community service program. The goals of this project is to provide opportunities for college students to work alongside their fire departments in delivering fire prevention to the community. By having students work side-by-side with the local fire department, they will…

  • Give back to the community
  • Help those living in high-risk circumstances reduce their chances of dying or being injured in a fire
  • Provide assistance to the local fire department in delivering fire prevention to the community
  • Learn first-hand about fire safety that will help them while they are in college and for the rest of their lives. After all, isn’t college about learning life skills?
Students from the Navajo Technical University and fire fighters from the Crown Point, New Mexico, Fire Department

Students from the Navajo Technical University and fire fighters from the Crown Point, New Mexico, Fire Department

The idea is to have students actively engaged in fire safety, not just sitting in a room learning about it. By being out in the community, doing hands-on projects, they can learn first-hand and also help others.

We did a series of pilot projects in at-risk communities in West Virginia, Kentucky, Mississippi and on the Navajo and Tohono O’odham Indian Reservations.  We have compiled the resources and lessons learned from these projects for everyone to use, sharing what we learned to help you develop a similar project in your own community.

If you have any questions, please contact us!