WHO: State Fire Marshal Robert Rielage
            Representatives from Ohio colleges and universities
            Fire departments that serve college towns

WHAT: A forum designed to improve fire safety in Ohio’s college and university dormitories. Specifically, the forum will address how to educate students in order to protect them from fire. The  discussion will also focus on what technological devices are available to reduce the risk, spread and damage associated with dorm fires.  The goal of the forum is to achieve a unified statewide approach to enhance fire safety in dormitories, to provide suggestions to the Ohio General Assembly and deal directly and immediately with the dangers of dormitory fires raised at Seton Hall and other institutions of higher learning across the nation and in our state.

WHEN: Thursday, May 4^th from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

WHERE: Ohio State University Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road, Columbus

NOTES: Last October, Marshal Rielage announced the availability of a dorm fire safety video for colleges at a press conference at Otterbein College. The video, which the State Fire Marshal’s office began distributing in August of last year, is entitled “Get Out and Stay Alive” and is available free of charge to all Ohio colleges and universities.

Produced by the United States Fire Administration with input from the Westerville, Ohio Division of Fire and select fire departments across the nation, the video is specifically designed for students in college residential settings such as dormitories, off-campus apartments and fraternity houses. It combines safety tips with modern rock music, college party scenes, film footage of actual collegiate fires and interviews with friends and families of students killed in those fires.

The video will be played near the beginning of Thursday’s program, and free copies will be on-hand for the media.

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