Have you ever been caught in a fire? Do you know what you’d do? Do you have a plan to get out? If you answered no to any of those questions, the Sault Ste. Marie Fire Department, the LSSU Department of Public Safety, and LSSU Housing and Residential Life has created an experience you need to have.

On November 9, 2007, Marquette Hall was the site of the Campus Smoke-Out. The residence hall has been gutted for renovation and provided the perfect location to demonstrate just how dangerous and disorienting a dorm or house fire can be.

The weather is turning cold and leading into winter, which might lead some to take extra measures to keep warm inside their dorm rooms. Items such as candles and space heaters are definitely not allowed in the dorms due to the obvious fire hazard they represent, but there are always students who break the rules (go to www.lssu.edu/housing to learn more about the on campus fire safety policy). On top of that, there are plenty of objects which are allowed that can cause fires. Coffeemakers, televisions, mini fridges, lamps, even the wiring in the building... any electrical appliance or conduit can be the source of a fire.

Even fire retardant furnishings (such as all the furnishings in every dorm on campus) are no guarantee that one will come out of a fire unscathed. Public Safety showed the Smoke-Out participants two videos regularly shown in fire science classes clearly demonstrating the danger of fire retardant furnishings. Everything will burn once it is heated to the right temperature. It’s not a question of if; it’s only a question of when. Carpeting, couch cushions, and many types of filling and batting material give off toxic fumes before ignition, making the air deadly even while the fire is still manageable.

Once these things have ignited, it goes from bad to worse. Many consumer products are made from petroleum byproducts. During the phenomenon known as “flashover” (when the air around an item gets hot enough to ignite the item), these petroleum substances effectively turn into napalm.

So what should you do? Obviously, the only right answer is “Get Out!” This, however, is much easier said than done, for a variety of reasons. First, in a fire that has progressed to the point of being very dangerous (a process that takes less than a minute), the air in the room will become incredibly hot. At normal head height, the air temperature can average a thousand degrees Fahrenheit. Even at floor level, the air temperature can still be a hundred degrees. Still unbearable, but at least it won’t fry your lungs instantly. So step one to getting out is get down and stay down.

Step two is “know where you’re going”. Getting down and staying down is helpful in this regard as well. During a fire, the super hot and often toxic products of combustion collect at the top of the room in a pitch black cloud. As Public Safety demonstrated with the help of a smoke machine, even at floor level, you may not be able to see. Housing and Residential Life has escape plans for all the buildings on campus. Find out what yours is, then practice and remember it. Know where you are going.

Now, you are out, your roommates are out, everything is fine, right? Not quite. Many people incorrectly assume that pulling a fire alarm automatically alerts the local fire department. In many places, including the campus of LSSU, this is not true. County Emergency Preparedness Officer for Chippewa County and LSSU fire science professor Dr. Terry Heyns says never hesitate to call the fire department directly. “When in doubt, call.” The fire department would rather get a hundred calls in time to save a burning building than one call way too late. Once you are out, call 911 immediately and report the fire.

Of course, there are always situations where students absolutely cannot get out of a burning building on their own. There are a few reasons for this. Obviously, the first reason is flat out fear. A fire is scary. The second, maybe not so obvious reason is the toxic gasses. One of the major products of combustion is carbon monoxide. Breathing enough of this will deprive the brain of oxygen, making it difficult to think or make decisions. In this case, you will have to depend on the firefighters who are coming in while everyone else is running out. They’ll be looking for you. Make yourself available. Don’t hide, stay still, make noise, try and get to a window if you can. The firefighters will also be looking for your roommates. Keep track of each other and let the firefighters know when you’re all out. Of course, says Captain Thorpe of the Sault Ste. Marie Fire Department, the best thing to do is prevention. That way “we never have to come looking for you.”

Computer networking freshman Matt Orlani, who went through the experience of a smoky dorm hall, called it “pretty realistic. That’s probably how it would actually be.” He also had some advice for anyone in that situation. “People should rehearse their escape routes. Don’t hold anything; just get out as fast as you can.”

For more information about campus fire safety, planned escape routes, or to request a repeat of the Smoke-Out event, contact Housing and Residential Life at 635-2411, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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