FACTS
--About three-quarters (73%) of the structure fires occuring in educational properties involve schools providing pre-school through high school education.
--An estimated 4,870 structure fires involving pre-school through grade 12 buildings were reported per year in 2003-2006.
--Many (21%) of the fires in buildings that house pre-school through grade 12 are intentionally set.
--Almost one-third (31%) of the structure fires in buildings that house pre-school through grade 12 were contained trash or rubbish fires.
SAFETY TIPS
--Fire drills must be held at least once a month while school is in session. (Schools located in climates where weather is severe have the option of deferring monthly drills).
--Principals, teachers or other school staff must inspect all exits daily to ensure that stairways, doors, and other exits are working properly and are unblocked.
--On the day of the drill, the emergency drill alarm should be sounded and the school fire alarm system. Make sure that everyone can recognize the sound of the alarm and knows what to do when it sounds.
--Teachers, officials and staff should be familiar with the school's fire protection system, including the location of the fire alarm pull stations and sprinklers.
--Every room in the school should have a map posted indentifying two ways out. In schools with open floor plans, exit paths should be obvious and kept free of obstruction.
--On the day of the fire drill, everyone in the shool should participate.
--Students with specific needs should be assigned an adult or a student buddy to assist them. Fire drills are a good opportunity to identify who among the student population requires extra assistance.
--While it's important to make sure that students leave the building as quickly as possible, order is more important than speed when it comes to conducting a safe fire drill.
--Once everyone has safely exited the building, they should remain outside at a predetermined location until the 'all clear' has been given to reenter the school.
--Use rosters to ensure that every student is accounted for.
--Fire drills should be held both at expected and at unexpected times, and under varying conditions in order to simulate the conditions that can occur in an actual emergency.
--Schools fire drills are a model for students to use in their homes. Encourage students to practice their escape plans at home--just as they do at school.
All information has been referenced through the NFPA Public Education Division; if you would like to visit the site go to www.nfpa.org/education or click on Departments, then Fire Department,Useful Links and go to National Fire Protection Agency.